


Danganronpa 1.5: Hope Revival

by j0ss



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Danganronpa
Genre: Also death scars if that makes sense, As you do, F/F, F/M, Hagakure is a man-child, I had to do actual research of the school while writing this, Junko clowns the surivors: a fanfic, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Simulation AU, That’s right no ones dies fellas, a sprinkle of angst, and Makoto is awkward af, bruh, okay i lied there's a lot of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2020-06-23 17:58:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19706551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/j0ss/pseuds/j0ss
Summary: PREVIOUSLY TITLED: "You can't leave yet!"“The...the dead s-students...they…” Toko sputtered out, then fell silent again.“What?! What about them?” Hina asked, alarmed. “Did Monokuma-or Junko -do something to them?”“Are they ghosts?!” Hiro yelled, his eyes wide.“No they’re not g-ghosts you i-idiot!” Toko yelled. “Th-they’re alive!”Frankly. Makoto Naegi was a little sick of Hope's Peak, and especially Junko Enoshima. All he wanted was to get out of this school, see his family again, and spread hope to the world or something along those lines.However, as luck would have it, Junko has roped him and the other survivors into something bigger than he's anticipated, despite clearly being dead.Although... death in this world seems to be not quite as clear as they had previously thought.// in which thh was a simulation, and the kiddos have trauma. yay!





	1. Chapter One: Graduation Postponed

Six students nervously stood before the large metal door of Hope’s Peak Academy. The six teens looked around the room, unsure and shocked that it was all over. They’d been through Hell, and being here, being able to finally “graduate” had cost them greatly. The cost? The lives of their very own classmates and friends. They weren’t ready to admit it, but if no lives had been taken, they would not have been able to unmask the mastermind, nor the secrets of the school. But still… even though they now knew the truth...true horrors had transpired in the school, and the whole world knew! Were they ready to face that? 

They weren’t sure, but they knew that they had to go forward, and leave the despair behind.

 _It looks like hope is really spreading._ Makoto thought. _As long as i never give up…_ “I have to push even harder.” He said aloud. _I’m going to keep moving forward, with hope in my heart. Since I have hope, I can show courage._ Makoto looked at the red button on the controller in his hands. _Since I have hope...I can move ahead. The world… can move ahead._ Makoto smiled and prepared for a future full of hope...

“W-wait!” Toko sputtered out just before Makoto’s finger touched the button. “We...we can’t l-leave yet!” The other five students looked at the girl, some in bewilderment, and some in anger.

“Uhhh… why not?” Hiro asked, an anxious look in his eyes.

“Yes, please enlighten us.” Byakuya said, but it sounded more like an order. Toko yelped at his voice.

“M-master! U-um...well…”

“Just spit it out” Byakuya barked, clearly impatient already. Well, they were all impatient. They were just about to leave this nightmare!

“O-of course m-master!” She yelled, her face going pink and her voice getting high. She went silent for a moment, appearing as if she was lost in thought. “W-well,” she finally spoke up. “It’s better i-if I show you. F-follow me.” She then spun around and walked down the entrance hall, then to the left. The others looked at one another, unsure.

“Should...we follow her?” Hina asked. “I mean, we’re right here! Why can’t we just leave now?”

“Yea!” Hiro added. “ She’s kinda nutty anyway. She’s probably getting her fanfiction or something” Makoto nodded in slight agreement. There can’t be anything that important…

“I think we should follow her.” Kyoko suddenly stated, grabbing everyone’s attention. “You have to remember, Toko asked us to follow her to show us something, so it must be more important than some ‘fanfiction’. It won’t hurt us to give her a chance.” Her voice then dropped. “Plus, we don’t want to bring out Genocide Jack, right?’ Everyone’s eyes widened at the mention of the serial killer that also happened to share a body with Toko.

“I agree.” Byakuya said.”It’s probably nothing, but we should just get it out of the way.” With that, they sighed and headed after Toko. They found her waiting at the stairs leading to the second floor.

“J-jeez, what t-took you so long…” Toko muttered, rubbing her arm. “Do you g-guys really hate m-me that m-much?” 

“My apologies, Toko.” Kyoko said. “Now, lead us to what you want to show us.” Toko nodded, and made her way up the stairs. Makoto found himself at the back of the crowd, deep in his thoughts. _What could Toko possibly need to show us? What if it’s actually important? Is it about the outside world? Is it-_ He was suddenly pulled back to the real world as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see that it was Kyoko.

“It’ll be fine Makoto, there’s no need to worry, Remember, the mastermind and Monokuma are no more.” She told him, giving him a smile of reassurance. “Also, you’re an open book, you know that?” He chuckled and returned the smile. Kyoko was right, he shouldn’t worry so much. 

“So, do you know where exactly we’re going?” He asked.

“Well, she didn’t say directly, but I heard her mumbling about the headmaster’s office, so I’m assuming there.” Kyoko responded, looking ahead. Makoto felt a pang of guilt. He wanted to avoid the topic of the headmaster for a bit, considering what him and Kyoko now knew.But it seemed like that wasn’t going to happen now. The two stayed silent as they walked up to the fourth where the headmaster’s office laid. The door was busted open, and few papers had made their out of the room. The room itself was in shambles, drawers and papers everywhere. The students would have been shocked, if not for the fact that they had mostly caused this. However, Toko stopped just outside of the doorway. Instead, she dropped down and began feeling the ground.

“What the…” Hiro whispered, his mouth gaped open. “She is crazy!” Toko apparently heard him, as she scoffed and continued feeling. Eventually, she let out a quiet “Yes!” and pulled part of carpet easily off of the floor. From underneath the carpet, she pulled out a file. 

“H-here’s what I was talking about.” She said as she got up and held the file with both hands. She was met with confused faces, and realization hit her. “I-I didn’t f-find it in t-the ground! I h-hid it there.” She hastily explained. “I-I didn’t want M-Monokuma to f-find it an-and destroy it…” Wow...so it must really be important. Makoto thought.

“Well...what is it?” Hina asked, breaking the silence. Toko jumped and fumbled while she opened the file. Before she could start reading, however, Byakuya snatched it from her hands. Toko opened her as if to speak, but then closed her mouth and looked down. Makoto kind of..felt bad for her. Byakuya squinted as he scanned the file. As his eyes travelled down farther, his look of distaste grew, which made everyone else more nervous than they already were. After a minute or so, Byakuya looked up from the file and glared at Toko.

“Why did you keep this from us? This is extremely important.” He spat. Toko somehow looked more ashamed, and gulped.

“I...I d-didn’t want the m-mastermind to use it ag-against us…” She muttered, then looked away. Makoto could’ve swore he heard a quiet “S-sorry.”

“What’s in the file Byakuya?” Kyoko questioned.

“Well, there’s a lot to unpack, I’ll be honest.” Byakuya began. “But, to start, let’s just say Junko didn’t tell us everything.” 

“What do you mean?” Makoto asked. He thought the last trial was all about uncovering the school’s secrets. What could they have missed? The other asked similar questions, equally confused. All except for Toko, that is.

“The...the dead s-students...they…” Toko sputtered out, then fell silent again.

“What?! What about them?” Hina asked, alarmed. “Did Monokuma-or Junko -do something to them?”

“Are they ghosts?!” Hiro yelled, his eyes wide. 

“No they’re not g-ghosts you i-idiot!” Toko yelled. “Th-they’re alive!”

“What!?” Makoto yelled. H-how? She has to be joking...he saw...they ALL saw the bodies and executions…

“You...you can’t be serious!” Hina argued. “There’s no way they can be alive!”

“I’m afraid Toko’s correct.” Byakuya stated loudly over everyone. “According to this file, for the most part, this ‘killing game’ has been a simulation.” Hiro gasped loudly at the statement, while Hina and Makoto seemed frozen in shock. Kyoko, on the other hand, seemed deep in thought.

“What do you mean by ‘for the most part’?” The lavender-haired girl asked. 

“Well, the file doesn’t go into complete detail, but it does say that...there’s has been a chip of sorts placed in our heads.” Byakuya explained. “That chip can more or less control what is and isn’t in the simulation. For example, seeing Sayaka’s dead body was a simulation, but spending free time with her wasn’t. Furthermore, the execution of each ‘killer’ was also a simulation.”

“So…” Hina started. “What you’re saying is…”

“Yes, I’m indeed saying that everyone who died is not as dead as we thought they were. In fact, the ‘refrigerators’ in the ‘morgue’ are most likely actually containment chambers that are keeping them alive.”

“But...why?” Makoto asked quietly. “Why would they only keep it partially a simulation?”

“My best guess is that it makes us, ‘the characters’ seem more interesting.” Byakuya replied, pushing up his glasses.

“Also, remember that Junko is, or was, the mastermind. She loved, well more like was obsessed with, despair. If we reacted to the ‘deaths’ outside of the simulation, it would cause much more despair.” Kyoko added. Makoto and the others nodded in agreement. It was slowly starting to make sense. There was a small silence in the group while they all comprehend the information given to them. Then, out of nowhere, Hina turned and started to run back down the hallway.

“Hina!” Makoto yelled. “What are you doing?!”

“What do you think?” Hina yelled back, stopping in her tracks. As she turned, Makoto could see her eyes begin to well up. “We have to get our friends! We know they’re alive, what are we waiting for?!” She began to choke up as tears rolled down her face. “Sakura…she’s alive! We have to get her! Tell her that her sacrifice worked… oh Sakura…” Hina finished, looking down. She clenched her fists as she felt the warm tears roll down her face, one after the other. Why aren’t they going? Don’t they care?! They have to get Sakura! And the others! She thought dreadfully, as her body began to shake. The five others looked at each other, unsure of what to say or do.

Hina gasped as she felt arms wrap around her. She lifted her head and realized that it was Makoto. Wait, Makoto? She didn’t expect this...although the hug was reassuring. “Hey, we’ll get her out, don’t worry” She heard him whisper to her. “But I think there’s a bit more in the file. But Sakura’s going to be ok.” She chuckled through her tears and returned the hug, whispering a “thank you” to Makoto began walking back to the group.

“Now then,” Byakuya resumed, “Before we continue, I suggest we take out these ‘chips’ in our heads. The simulation may be over, but we can’t risk anything.” 

“But...didn’t you say they were in our heads?” Yasuhiro asked. Byakuya glared at him for a second before answering his question.

“Yes, they are, but not completely. If this file is indeed correct…” Byakuya then walked over to Hiro, said man nervously gulping at the action. Swiftly and sharply, Byakuya reached down into Hiro’s hair, wiggles around, and then yanked, resulting in a help form Hiro.

“Ow! What gives?!” Hiro asked angrily, rubbing his head. Byakuya ignored Hiro, and instead held up something. Makoto looked a bit closer and realized it was a small metal chip, just as Byakuya said.

“As you can see, the chips can be pulled out of you know where to look.” Byakuya said. 

“So we just let you rip them out of our heads?!” Hina asked with undertones of anger and disbelief.

“If you want them out, then yes.” The prodigy replied.

“Just make it quick.” Kyoko spoke out as she walked up to him. She winced as he pulled out the chip, and watched him put in his pocket. “I assume for later inspection?” She asked. 

“Of course.” He stated. Byakuya continued to pull out everyone’s chip, including his own, and stored them in his pocket. Makoto rubbed his head as it stang. _He really could have been more gentle…_

“So...what now?” Hiro asked, putting his eyes on everyone, hoping for someone to know. Byakuya opened his mouth as if to speak, but Kyoko spoke up before he could.

“Well, now I think would be a good time to check the Bio Lab, or the morgue, as we now know it to be.” The detective responded. “After all, we don’t want anyone in those refrigerators for too long if they’re conscious.” Makoto nodded. _If anyone was in there, and alive, then they wouldn’t last long locked in there._

“Hmf. You sh-should know better than t-to interupt master…” Toko commented, pulling at her fingers.

“He didn’t even say anything!” Hina argued, clearly annoyed.

“Sh-shut up, donut f-for brains!”

“Gh!” With that, Hina huffed, crossed her arms, and turned away. Kyoko simply ignored the kerfuffle, and began her ascent to the fifth floor. The others were quick to follow, anxious to what they might find. At least, that’s how Makoto felt. What would they do if someone was actually alive? What if it was one of the murderers? What if… no, he thought. He wouldn’t let himself think about if she was the first to wake up. She did try to frame him for murder, but he now knew they used to be classmates, maybe even friends… Before he knew it, he and the others were standing in front of the Bio Lab. Kyoko then turned to face them.

“I’m going to go it and see if anyone’s awake, but I want everyone else to stay here. Waking up after dying will be hard enough, and I don’t want them to feel overwhelmed by us all.” She explained. “But, if there is someone, I’ll get a few others.” This got mixed reactions from the survivors. Byakuya scoffed in annoyance, but didn’t object. Hiro, Toko and Hina didn’t seem to mind, but Hina did seem nervous. Makoto himself was confident that Kyoko would be able t handle it. After all, she did save him from that dumpster he landed in. The girl herself proceeded to open the door and sneak through. The group stood anxiously as they waited for Kyoko. After what felt like an eternity, The light-haired girl emerged back into the hallway.

“Nothing’s changed.” Kyoko reported. “It’s just as it was before the trial.” The five sighed as they heard the news. _Man…_ Makoto thought _I was hoping *something* would happen._

“So…” Hina began quietly. “Does anyone have an idea on what we do now?”


	2. Chapter Two: Survivor Sleepovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The survivors prepare to wait on the dead to wake, Hiro is a man-child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hgghgh sorry if this chapter isn't all that exciting,,,,but it's gonna get exciting soon!! I think! Sorry for any mistakes

“So…” Hina began quietly. “Does anyone have an idea on what we do now?” The room fell silent at the swimmer’s question. What were they to do now? They can’t just leave… but how long do they have to wait?

“I suggest we camp out in the gym.” Kyoko suggested. “ That way we can all be together.”

“Or maybe we can camp in the dojo.” Makoto offered. “That way we’ll be closer to the Bio Lab.” Kyoko nodded.

“Good thinking Makoto. We’ll need to get blankets and such from our rooms, and the warehouse as well.” She agreed.

“I can go to the cafeteria to get food and water!” Hina added. “I mean, Monokuma did say there was a lifetime supply, right?”  
“Good thinking Hina!” Makoto replied, nodding his head.

“So we have a plan? Alright!” Hiro shouted dramatically. Makoto smiled at the action.  _ Maybe they can bring hope to this situation as well…  _ However, a certain rat had to do what he did best. (make things more complicated than necessary.)

“Tsk.” Byakuya said, pushing up his glasses, “You can have fun with your sleepover, I have more important things to do.” With that, the prodigy briskly walked down the hall towards who-knows-where. The grouped of survivors gaped at him, shocked, but not necessarily to surprised.

“M-master, wait up!” Toko yelled as she ran after him.  _ Of course… _ Makoto thought. 

“Well,” Hina said, breaking the silence. “Guess that means we’ll have to do it ourselves! Hmph, I bet Byakuya’s never had to do any work in his life…”

“Let’s just get started.” Kyoko stated. “Hina and Hiro, you two can be in charge of gathering food and drinks. Makoto and I will get pillows and blankets.” She paused to think. “Let’s say we meet back in thirty minutes.” Makoto and the other nodded at the plan. 

Kyoko then suddenly grabbed Makoto’s and led him down the hall to the stairwell. Makoto jumped at the gesture and blushed, caught off guard by the sudden contact. Kyoko must have sensed his surprise, since she turned around and looked at him. In response, Makoto chuckled and smiled, hoping that it would signal her that it was ok. To his surprise, she quickly turned back around, and he could’ve sworn he’d seen a blush…

_ God is he intentionally that cute or is it just natural to him?! _ Kyoko thought as she and Makoto rushed through the fourth floor of the school, trying to get her blush to disappear. She couldn’t believe that something as simple as a smile could get her to lose her cool like that. During the killing game she’d been able to hide her emotions fairly well, but there’s something about Makoto… that’s just overwhelmingly welcoming. Whatever. Right now she needs to focus. Kyoko continued to lead the both of them down the empty floors to the dormitories on the first floor. It was only then that she let go of Makoto’s hand, a light blush returning. She could hear Hina and Hiro arguing as they entered the cafeteria.

“Well,” She began, clearing her throat, “Luckily for us, I still have that special key, so we can just start with the first rooms, which seem to be mine and Taka’s.”

“So who goes in whose rooms?” Makoto asked. Kyoko looked at him, dumbfounded at the question. It took Makoto a few seconds to realize what he said, and yelped when he did. “W-wait no- I didn’t mean- I don’t want to go in your room that’s- that’s perverted! -uh-”

“Calm down Makoto, it’s fine.” Kyoko said through her chuckles. He really could be stupid sometimes. “Here, I’ll unlock Taka’s door for you.” She swiftly went up to the door on the left and took out the key she’d stolen from the very office they’d just been at. They were silent as the door opened with a click. Kyoko couldn’t help but look inside. The room looked clean and tidy, but she couldn’t tell if someone had cleaned it or if it was just Taka being Taka. “Wellit looks like it won’t be hard to get stuff from this room.” she noted. She then took a quick look at Makoto and walked to her own dorm.

Makoto hesitated before taking a step into Taka’s room. It just… felt weird walking into someone’s room when you saw them dead...but he’s not actually dead. Makoto had to constantly remind himself that what he saw really was fake, even though it didn’t seem that way. He was surprised for a second when he walked into Taka’s room. It was… very well kept even though Taka had died.  _ Well… that’s just Taka I guess… _ He thought. He moved over to the bed and began to gather up the sheets. Midway through folding, he noticed something on the floor, halfway under Taka’s bed. It looked like a small paper, but not incredibly small. There was something on it, but Makoto couldn’t tell what exactly it was. He hastily folded the blanket and squatted. From there he picked up the paper, but with ease. He didn’t want Taka mad at him for destroying his stuff when he comes to. _ Wait… is this an invasion of privacy? _ He asked himself. It probably is, but his curiosity beat his better judgement.

‘What the…” Makoto whispered as he examined the paper. The ‘paper’ in question was actually a photo, but the contents… they definitely weren’t from they’re time during the killing game. Depicted in the photo were Taka and Mondo, but Taka seemed to be wearing a uniform. The two of them were wearing big smiles on their faces, and their arms were around each other, similar to when they became friends after the sauna incident. Makoto smiled at the photo. I guess they were friends even before the game…

“Makoto, you okay in here? You’re taking a while…” Kyoko asked as she poked her head into the room, making the boy jump. He looked up and saw Kyoko was holding not one, but two blankets.  _ Oops…  _

“Ah, sorry Kyoko! I just found this photo under Taka’s bed. It’s just like the ones I found earlier!” Her lavender eyes widened in interest, so he bounced up and showed her his find.

“Hm. This certainly is an… interesting find.” Kyoko mumbled. “It must have been placed after the third trial, or Taka would have definitely noticed. Maybe…” She looked down and closed her eyes, concentrating hard. “Maybe Junko left this so we could get our memories back…i’m not sure.”

“Wellllllllll… If she did, then do you there are more? Like in the other rooms?” Makoto suggested.He hoped that there was, because just the mention of them getting their memories back made him want it.

“We’ll just have to check.” Kyoko replied with a smirk, setting her blankets on the floor.

  
  


“Jeez, what took you two so long?” Hina shouted as Makoto and Kyoko walked into the dojo, arms full of pillows and blankets. “It’s been like an hour!” The swimmer herself and Hiro were seated under one of the sakura trees, and Hina had an apple in her hand.

“Haha yea, were you two making out or something?” Hiro added, resulting in a blush from the both of them.

“N-no!!” Makoto shrieked, his voice cracking.

“Sorry, Makoto made a discovery and we got distracted. However, I think you’ll be interested in this.” Kyoko replied, as cool as ever, setting down her blankets. Makoto followed her actions and they ran over to the others. Hina and Hiro gasped when they saw the collection of photos the duo had gathered.

“We found one of these photos in each of the dorms, and we’re almost positive that they’re from our lives before the game.” Kyoko explained as the swimmer and clairvoyant looked through the photos.

“Wow…” Hina muttered. “I can’t believe I forgot this stuff...Ugh! This makes me mad! Why did Junko have to do this to us!?”

“Man this is weird…” Hiro said. “Look, Toko’s actually smiling in this one! And not her gross perverted smile!” He shuddered at the photo, shaking his head in disbelief as well. 

“Right. Anyway, what food did you two gather?” Kyoko questioned.

“Well as I expected, the cafeteria was still fully stocked, so we didn’t have any issues there.” Hina began, “I got fruits and vegetables mostly, since those will rot the fastest, but Hiro insisted on bringing-” Suddenly Hina was interrupted by Hiro jumping up, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

“You two not BELIEVE what I found!” The man ran over a crate near the lockers and pulled out...a can? As he came closer, Makoto noticed it was colorful and very obviously targeted at kids. “They have alphabet spaghetti!!!” Hiro yelled, way too excited about this.

“Uhhh…” Makoto managed to get out.

“Do you have a microwave or are you just going to eat it cold?” Kyoko asked dryly. Hiro’s expression turned to one of realization and the sparkle in his eyes disappeared at the question. As suddenly as he jumped up, he ran to the door but bumped into someone at the doorway. That someone happened to be…

“AHHHhhhhbyuakuya?” Hiro yelled, stepping back and stumbling.

“I-I’m here too you kn-know.” Toko said, stepping from behind Byakuya.

“Huh? What are you two doing here?” Makoto asked, tilting his head.

“Yea, didn’t you say ‘you had better things to do’?” Hina added, crossing her arms in a judging manner.

“Well if you must know,” Byukuya began. “I tried to do what I had left to do, but someone was distracting and annoying me to no end.” Byakuya spat, looking at Toko as he said the last part. She squeaked as he glared her down, and meekly followed him as he sat near the others, acting as if he hadn’t gone against the idea in the first place. Hiro also sat back down, sad about his alphabet spaghetti. Kyoko showed Byakuya and Toko the photo’s, and then the group made small talk as they ate and brushed sakura leaves off of them. (They really should have chosen a better place to sit)

“Hey, I have a question.” Hina said suddenly, swallowing a bite of a banana. “What happened to Mukuro? I mean, she died too, but she died twice, so…”

“Shit, you’re right!” Hiro exclaimed, his eyes widening. “Will she try to kill us? Isn’t she an Ultimate Despair too?!?!?!?” Hiro then yelped as Toko threw an apple at him, clearly annoyed.

“Shut u-up!”

“Ah! Ok!! Just don’t throw fruit at me!”

“That’s… a good question Hina. Honestly I don’t know” Makoto replied, the question now stuck in his head.

“Well, she looked pretty dead when I did an autopsy, but that doesn’t really matter now.” Kyoko responded, her eyes drifting down to look at the orange in her hand.

“Riiiiight…” Hina mumbled, disappointed. “Well, I do have another question that might be easier to answer!” 

“What is it?” Makoto questioned, as curious as everyone else, or at least Makoto hoped he wasn’t the only curious one.

“Byakuya,” Hina announced, looking at the prodigy dead on. “What were you doing that as sooooo important huh?” Byakuya glared back at her and sigh, as if annoyed that he had to reply. 

“Unlike you all, I was trying to find useful information; key word  _ trying _ .” Byakuya replied angrily. “There’s a data lab in the school, so I went there to find out what parts of our experience was a simulation, or anything else that was in there.”

“...Oh.” Hina replied, “So… it was actually something smart.”

“W-what do you m-mean by that?” Toko interjected angrily before Byakya could reply. “Master is smarter th-than all of yo-you!!”

“Okay okay, sorry!” Hina apologized nervously, and went back to eating her banana.

“Well Byakuya, I think you’re on a good train of thought in this aspect.” Kyoko began, “I think we should try again tomorrow. If we all look, we’ll be more likely to find something.

“As much as I’d hate to agree… I suppose that might work.” Byakuya mumbled. _ Well if Byakuya agrees, then it has to work, right? _ Makoto thought.

“Well for now, I think we should all get some rest. It’s been a long day.” Kyoko announced. 

“Agreed!” Hiro said. “All this thinking I’ve had to do has made my head hurt!”

“Right, because you think so much…” Toko whispered as she went and grabbed two blankets. “H-here master I-I got you a blanket!”

“And yet you aren’t smart enough to get pillows as well.” Byakuya responded as he stood up, making Toko squeak.

After a few minutes of shuffling around, everyone eventually situated themselves with pillows and blankets. Kyoko had turned the lights off, but there was still a soft glow from a lantern, which comforted Makoto. He’d started to dislike darkness after almost getting murdered in his sleep and falling into darkness. Heh. The small group exchanged goodnights, and the room fell silent, the only sound being silent breathing. However, the room was soon filled by what sounded like Hiro snoring. Makoto tried to sleep, he really did, but everything that had happened that day kept replaying in his mind.

_ What if no one wakes up? _

_ What if they’re different? _

_ Will they try to kill again? _

Makoto was stuck with these thoughts for what felt like days, but soon, even he succumbed to slumber… 

  
  
  


“Makoto!”

“Makoto wake up!”

Makoto was suddenly jerked awake, to find that Hiro was frantically shaking him, while Hina and Toko stood behind him. Makoto looked at him with his eyes only half open, still kind of asleep.

“...Huh?” He said as he yawned, his head dropping to one side.

“Come on and get up! Someone’s awake!”

  
  


In case you were wondering, here's a description of each photo:

Kyoko: Kyoko and Hina squat on a sidewalk as they look at a stray cat. It can be assumed this is after school because they are both in uniform and this lighting. The cat seemed to have taken a liking to Kyoko, and is rubbing against her. She smiles faintly 

Taka: Described earlier and i don't feel like writing it again rn oop-

Mondo: Mondo, Chihiro, and Leon are seen playing a video game. Chihiro has taken first place, and is smiling proudly. Mondo got second, and is high-fiving Chihiro. Leon ...got eighth and looks at the screen, shocked. The places can told by writing on the photo.

Byakuya: It seems to be lunch time, and Byakuya is sitting next to Toko and Naegi. In the photo Byakuya is laughing a genuine laughed. Toko and Makoto look at him, shocked. Written on the photo is the caption “Byakuya has emotions!?”

Junko: Junko and Mukuro “junko pose” in a cafe at a very late hour while other students laugh in the background and around them. 

Celeste: Celeste is wearing e-girl clothes, checking herself out it what seems to be a dressing room. Junko is in the foreground of the photo, sticking her tongue out and doing a peace sign. It’s a snapchat post, and the caption reads “Just the fashion police doing my job”

Hifumi: The photo shows Hifumi wearing a Sailor Moon wig and doing an anime girl pose while Hiro is on the floor laughing. Celeste is disappointed in the background. (Oh also this is in a class)

Hiro: A snapchat he obviouly made in class that reads “I’m gonna fail this test lmaoooo Makoto plz let me copy”

Leon: A photo someone took of him, Sayaka, and a girl with multicolored hait doing Karaoke. Students from multiple classes can be seen cheering and laughing, or being petrified.

Sakura: The photo shows Sakura and a buff dude with blue hair arm wrestling, while Hina and a brunette with big badonkers cheer them on. This seems to be in a classroom.

Hina: It shows Hina and Sakura walking to school, Hina holding a donut bag

Chihiro: The photo shows Chihiro and a girl with pink hair and jacket in a dorm room. They are both holding toy diamond swords and screaming.

Toko: Toko is looking at her phone, with a smile and a blush on her face. Makoto is next to her, angrily telling her something.

Sayaka: All of the dr1 girls are in a dorm room. Sayaka’s is in the foreground smiling while the other do sleepover things (I’m lazy)

Makoto: makoto is in a hallway talking to a kid that kind of looks like him, but he’s wearing a collared shirt and a tie. Written on the photo is “ahoge gang!!”

Lmao u can tell I got lazier with the descriptions as I wrote them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope your day is lovely!!


	3. Chapter Three: Singer’s Debut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first student awakens. Another student is there to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the chapter!

“Makoto!”

“Makoto wake up!”

Makoto was suddenly jerked awake, to find that Hiro was frantically shaking him, while Hina and Toko stood behind him. Makoto looked at him with his eyes only half open, still kind of asleep.

“...Huh?” He said as he yawned, his head dropping to one side.

“Come on and get up! Someone’s awake!”

“W-What?!” Makoto squeaked, his voice cracking and his sleepiness quickly leaving; only to be replaced by anxiety and excitement. Hiro yanked him out of bed (Which frankly made his arm hurt) and barely let Makoto gather himself before running out of the dojo, with Toko trailing behind. Makoto stumbled as they zoomed past the classrooms, and he would have definitely fallen if not for Hiro’s super-grip. Before he knew it, they were in the open doorway of the Bio Lab, and being held up by Hina and Kyoko, alive as can be, looking right at him with wide eyes was… 

  
  


_ Blood... _

_ Blood everywhere... _

_ Her stomach...it... _

_ It hurt. _

_ Oh god it hurt _

_ Oh god oh god oh god it hurts!! Why the fuck did she do this! Why did she try to kill Leon? And frame Makoto? Why?? Agh... _

_ The pain... _

_ It...it... _

Sayaka’s body jerked as it was forced to awaken. The girl’s eyes widened from the sudden movement, and were met with a bright light.

_...What? _

_ The hell??? _

_ Am I...in heaven? Hell? No...hell isn’t like this...is it? After all...she did try to... _

_ Wait! Where the heck was she?! _

Her eyes frantically looked around, desperately searching for answers. She tried to move her hands, but they were numb and cold. Then she tried her legs. No luck. She begged her body to move, but it was all just..numb. She tried her best to make out her surroundings with only her eyes. As said eyes adjusted, she noticed that she was confined in a metal box of sorts. Suddenly the lights ahead of her went dark, leaving her in almost complete darkness. This caused Sayaka to panic, and she tried to scream.

It was then she realized that there was a mask attached to her mouth. She looked and found that a tube led up to the top of the box from the mask. Maybe...that’s what’s making her numb. Having found a little bit of hope, she thrashed and bit to attempt to get the mask off. Eventually, after a bit of time and embarrassing herself, she was able to get the confining mask off. She then tried moving her hands again, but to no avail. However, it did seem like her vocal chords stills worked, somehow.

So she screamed.

She screamed like her life depended on it, which was ironic considering her condition a few moments ago. She screamed to be let out. She begged that someone, anyone, would just let her know what’s going on. Is this her punishment? Is this what she gets for attempting to frame someone for murder? It’s not like she didn’t deserve it but… it was strange. This felt… too real. She didn’t feel any different, except the extreme pain in her stomach was gone. In fact… she felt… normal. Well, not completely normal, but not how she thought dead would feel. Nevertheless, she continued to yell and holler in the hopes that someone would hear her. She felt her voice start to disappear, but she didn’t care. She died, it didn’t really matter in the end.

She yelled for what felt like days, tears streaming down her face from the strain on her voice. She was a singer, but even she has her limits. _ I should probably give up… _ she thought.  _ My body is still mostly numb, and even if, I doubt I’d be able to get out of here on my own… _ The singer started to choke up, realizing the pain in her throat and the reality of her situation. Sher voice she gave out one last choked up cry, then her voice completely gave out and she was silent once more. Sayaka tried to give herself hope, if possible.  _ Well, at least I’m not in eternal suffering!  _ She thought, making her inner voice bubbly, like how she usually talked. _ Instead it’s just… eternal… loneliness. Well, that’s it for positive thinking. Guess all there is to do now is… nothing.  _

But then… she heard something

Feet. It was feet running across the floor. A floor. And… they were getting closer. Louder. Someone… was there. Someone was there! Wait… there’s more. More feet… more people! Maybe they would help her! Or maybe not… 

Suddenly the box she was in was rattling rapidly. She lurched a bit as something pulled, or tried to pull the box. They… they are trying to get me out! She thought, smiling for the first time in what felt like forever. But her smile didn’t last long.

Sayake felt the box lurch open and she was met again with bright lights overhead, but this time two objects were blocking the way. As the pop star’s eyes came back into focus, she realized they were… heads. In fact, they were the heads of… Hina and Kyoko?! What? Th-that can’t be!! She thought, her eyes frantically looking around the new environment and her breath picking up speed.

“It’s-it’s Sayaka!” She heard one of them say, but her brain was hurting from the light, and didn’t process who it was. 

“Sayaka! Can you hear us?” A concerned voice said, but it was muffled to her, and she could only barely understand the question. She parted her lips as if to speak, but she couldn’t bring herself to make any noise, to question what was going on. “Come on, let’s get her out of this.” The voice said again, and Sayaka vaguely felt herself getting slowly taken out of her confinement by the two girls.

“Her limbs are totally limp!” A voice said. “Can she even move them?” Sayaka weakly shook her head, just enough to where the others could understand. Soon enough both of Sayaka’s arms were around a girl, and they were holding her up.

“Where are the other three?” A third voice said, this one lower and more authoritative. If she had the energy and will to, she would have looked up to see who it was. The three in the room began to talk, but Sayaka tuned them out. She was, quite frankly, in shock. Just a moment ago, she’d accepted her eternal loneliness in what she assumed was hell, or at least the afterlife. Now… she has no idea what to think of anything.

A few moments later, she faintly heard more steps and voices coming from somewhere outside of the room. She brought her eyes slightly back into focus as the voices grew louder. The singer flinched as there was a commotion as she assumed the people the voices belonged to entered the room. Jeez, they really were loud. So loud, that Sayaka managed to look up at what was in front of her. And what-no- _ who _ she saw was…

_ It’s… _

_ It’s him… oh god it’s him _

_ He’s here… oh god no no no no _

_ Not now… _ Sayaka choked on the air as black splotched appeared around her. Her vision went fuzzy as she dropped her head, feeling the stretch on her neck. As she went into unconsciousness, she heard loud voices, and the distinct voice of Makoto Naegi shouting “Sayaka!”

Sayaka’s eyes flung open as she gasped and bounced back to life. At least, she would have, but a pain pierced her stomach as she tried to sit up. The ultimate hissed at the unexpected pain, and went to grab said stomach, but she felt a pair of hands that weren’t her own old her arm. She looked up and saw bright blue concerned eyes looking straight at her.

“Hey, it’s ok, it’s just me.” Hina said as she scooted closer, “Just… lay down, okay? You look like you’re in pain, so you don’t want to stress yourself.” The swimmer gently helped Sayaka lay down some, but just enough for pain to ease. Sayaka looked up Hina, her eyes a whirlwind of confusion and… fear? 

“W… What… What happened?” Sayaka managed to mumble out, her voice scratched like a record. “Wh-Where am I? Why am I- I’m- I’m supposed to be-” 

Hina quickly held her arms again, giving her a warm but worried look that Sayaka didn’t expect. Why was she being so nice? “Hey, calm down, you’re ok. I know it’s weird, but I’ll explain it when you’re a bit more stable, ok?” Hina then reached behind her and came back with a cup of something that looked warm, told by the faint trail of steam growing from it. “Here’s some tea. It makes me feel better and more calm, so hopefully it’ll make you feel better too.” Hina handed Sayaka the warm cup and turned around again. Sayaka concentrated on her hands to attempt to keep them steady as she brought the cups to her lips. Luckily. She managed not to spill any. She smiled as the flavored warmth travelled down her thought. It _ tastes very natural… but in a good way. _ She thought.  _ Hina was right… this does make me feel a bit better… _ The ultimate looked up again and saw that the other girl had a cup of her own.

“This.. Um, this is good tea… thank you.” Sayaka started quietly, looking down at her feet. The swimmer looked up from her beverage and lightly smiled, tilting her head as well.

“Oh! Thank you.” Hina replied. “I used to not be that much of a fan of tea, but Sakura introduced me to a bunch of flavors, most of which I had never heard of! She told me that a lot of teas can help get rid of stress and anxiety, and after this game… I need that…” Hina trailed off and her eyes travelled down to her cup, a regretful look on her face. Sayaka looked at her for a moment, then realized something. Sakura… she hadn’t been in the room when she woke, had she?

“Wait… Sakura.. She’s…?” Sayake asked, not managing to ask the question in its entirety. There’s no way anyone could murder her, but she didn’t seem like a killer…

“Yea… she died… but it’s not what you think.” Hina began. “She… She sacrificed herself to stop the killing… and I guess it worked. No one died after that. Still… she didn’t deserve to die…” a tear escaped Hina’s eyes as her voice gave a cracked laugh. “But, it’s ok! You’re here, so she’s gonna come back! She has to!” The brunette suddenly changed her emotion entirely, her eyes once filled with despair now filled with hope. 

“Wow… “ Sayaka breathed. “ Sakura sacrificed herself to save the rest of you guys… she should get to come back, not me!” 

“Hey!” Hina yelled, looking at the singer with an alarmed expression. “Don’t think like that!”

“But it’s true!” Sayake argued. “I tried to kill someone! Someone who never even did anything to me! Why should I get live again?!”

“Because...because...because everyone deserves a second chance! You’re getting a chance to be better! Right your wrong! You may not realize it, but you waking up has given everyone hope! We now know that the dead can wake up! That they can come back to us…” Hina responded in a confident and determined voice Sayaka didn’t know Hina had. 

“I…” Sayaka started, taken aback by Hina’s argument. “You’re right. I…I won’t let you down! I’ll try!” Hina smiled at her statement.

“Yea!!! Hope for the win!!” She cheered. “But also, let me tell you something.”

“What is it?” The singer asked.

“Well...during Sakura’s trial… I blamed the others for her death, so I tried to convince them that I had killed her. I knew that it would result in all of our deaths, but I was too wrapped up in my emotions to really think about it. What I’m trying to say is, I probably understand your thinking better than the others, so I’m here if need to talk, okay?”

“Okay.” Sayaka replied. She still didn’t feel like she deserved it, but for the first time since the killing game began… she felt cared about.

She liked it.

“So… you wanna tour of the school?” Hina asked, her bubbly voice back.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So, school is starting, so I may not be able to update as often. Please understand and have a lovely day!


	4. Chapter Four: Technical Difficulties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sayaka and Hina make a startling discovery, while the others struggle to discover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the chapter!

“So… you want a tour of the school?” Hina asked, her bubbly voice having returned to her. “You’ve only seen the first floor, so there’s a lot to see!”

“Uh… Sure! That’d be… helpful.” Sayaka replied quietly. Hina quickly jumped up from her spot on the floor with an astounding burst of energy, and extended a hand to the blue-haired girl. Sayaka slowly accepted the hand, doubting the kindness at first, but as she got up the pain in her stomach from earlier returned with more force than before. Sayaka winced as she made herself stand on her own two legs for the first time in what felt like forever. _Agh…. my stomach…why does it hurt so bad?!_ She thought, bringing her other hand to the said region of her body. Sayaka tried to suppress the pain and take a step, but her body gave way when she lifted her leg, causing her to yelp from the shock. Hina grabbed her arm as she began to fall, unable to steady herself. “T-thank you…” Sayaka coughed out as she held her stomach so hard someone could assume she was bleeding. 

“I think we should skip the grand tour for now, we need to get you to the nurse’s office.” Hina said worryingly, already moving herself and Sayaka to the door. “Really we should’ve moved you when you passed out, but I think we were too focused on the fact that ‘oh my god Sayaka really came back to life.’” Hina grunted a bit as she struggled to open the door, what with half of her energy being used to hold up Sayaka.

“Right…” Sayaka mumbled, trying to help Hina move the two of them. She felt bad about being so dependent on her (well, she felt bad about a lot of things), but she knew that there was no possible way she could make her way to the nurse’s office on her own. Heck, she didn’t even know where it was! Or what floor she was on! I… I don’t know anything… why I’m here, I'm here, what the hell happened to everyone else… The more she thought about it, the more she craved answers. She deserved to know, doesn’t she? “Hey...um, Hina?” The singer asked weakly, directing her eyes toward the brunette.

“Hm? What is it Sayaka?” 

“Um… Could you tell me… what happened? How… am I alive? I know you said we should wait but…” Sayaka’s voice trailed off with the end of her questions. A knot began to form in the pit of her stomach, fear of the response beginning to creep in her thoughts. Her breathing started to picked up and scatter. She asked it, why is she so unprepared for the response? Maybe she should’ve waited… she’ll just tell Hi-

“Oh! Yea I can tell you, if you want. Be prepared though, it”s pretty unbelievable. Sayaka exhaled and looked down. I could tell her now that I’m not ready ... but will I ever be?

“Go ahead.” She croaked out.

“Um, well, it started yesterday… we were at the entrance of the school, about to open the doors when Toko stopped us. She looked frantic, and said there was something stopping us from continuing. She then brought us to the headmaster’s room, where we found out…” Hina stopped for a moment, a sadness reaching her eyes. “We found out that a majority of our killing game had been the world of a chip placed in our heads. The chip made illusions of deaths and executions. So… yea.” Hina looked over at her, awaiting a response of some sort.

Sayaka, on the other hand, had no words. Her feet stuck to the floor, as if they were frozen in place. She should be happy, ecstatic even. It wasn’t real! Everyone can live out the rest of their lives! But… one left out detail stuck out to her like a sore thumb. A detail that Sayaka feared to ask about.

“Uh, you ok?” Hina asked, worry starting to form on her face.

“Hina…”

“Y-yea?”

“You said the deaths were fake, right? But… what about the feelings? The interactions?” Sayaka looked up again, somehow not too scared to show herself.

“Oh um… well, from what I remember… Byakuya said that interactions and all that was not in the simulations… to make our reactions to the deaths “more realistic”. Gosh, I hate Junko! Ugh!” Hina answered, yelling the last bit up at the sky. “But I can ask him again later. Right now we need to get you some medical attention!” 

“Right.”

With some struggle-especially on the stairs- Hina and Sayaka made it onto the very first floor to the nurse’s office. They only got distracted once, as Hina couldn’t help but rant about how great the pool was. Well, Hina also stopped at another room on the fourth floor to get something, but she said it was important, not a distraction. They also found out that the actual term the school used was infirmary, but frankly neither of them cared much. The swimmer hauled Sayaka onto the the frail cots, exhausted by the journey. She wiped her forehead, but quickly got to work, searching the cabinets for something, Sayaka surely didn’t know what. The singer in question sat restlessly on the cot, an unnecessary fear taking over her.

“Aha! Found it!” Hina exclaimed out of nowhere. Sayaka turned toward her, curious about the reason for the outburst. Hina revealed that her discovery was a small styrofoam cup.

“Uh…’ Sayaka said, unsure how to react.

“I’m surprised how hard this was to find! I snagged some stomach pills from the Chemistry Lab, but I had to get some water so you wouldn’t have to dry-swallow!” 

“Oh… how considerate.” The singer replied, taken aback. She watched as Hina filled the cup from the sink, and poured out a pill. Hina walked over to the sitting girl, and gave her the medication gently. The blue-haired ultimate closed her eyes as she swallowed the pills. Sayaka never did like taking pills, but the life of a pop singer takes a lot out of her, and medicine helps the best. She thought at some point she’d get used to it, but the sensation of sticking pills down her throat never ceased to gross her out. Luckily for her, the pill went down her throat without any gagging or struggle. Hina was watching her closely, so she put her thumb up to signal she was OK. 

“Right. I also found a hospital gown, which you can into if you want until we get some more clothes. After all, your current clothes are kinda… “ Hina trailed off and pointed at Sayaka’s shirt, causing her to look down. And right where she was pointing was a bright and messy blood stain.

“Ah… “ Sayaka replied, eyes wide. “Right. Well, we are on the first floor right? Could we… get to my room?”

“ That’s a really good idea, but we’d need your room key for that. I think the last person to have your key was Makoto, but also I think Kyoko had a key to unlock every room, though I don’t know how she got it…” Sayaka unintentionally tuned out Hina as she began to ramble. She had other things on her mind. Things like… _Makoto… I’m going to have to face him soon. It’s inevitable… how am I going to be able to look at him? How is he going to stand being around me? He probably despises me, and I deserve it! What about the others… they’ll probably hate me too. I was lucky with Hina._ Sayaka sighed as she struggled to hold back tears. Just when she was about to let loose, a folded piece of cloth was thrown her way. She quickly identified it was the hospital gown Hina was talking about. “Here you go. Here, I’ll go outside while you change and keep guard. Can’t have anyone walk in!”

“Thanks.” Sayaka replied as Hina walked outside. She could see the faint silhouette of Hina from where she was. Gently, she lifted her shirt… 

\--------------------------------

Hina hummed as she closed the infirmary door behind her. As she heard the faint click of the door, she leaned against it and sighed, taking in everything. In all honesty, she really had no idea what she was doing, but she knew she had to be strong. “I have to be strong… for Sakura.” She whispered to herself. Suddenly she heard a terrifying shriek from inside. In an instant, Hina had the door open, looking in. The swimmer’s mouth fell open at what she saw. “Sayaka…!”

“What the-!” Sayaka screamed, her eyes focused on her stomach. Normally, this would be nothing to scream about, but something was wrong. To be exact, there was a huge, obvious, and pink scar all along Sayaka’s chest. The wound was faint around her sides and near her skirt, but dark right under her breasts. “I-I… What- “ Hina could see the beginnings of tears forming in Sayaka’s eyes, and her pupils shrinking in fear. Of course, she rushed over and held her shoulders, not sure what to say but wanting to help.

“Sayaka… Sayaka?” Hina looked up at the girl to realize the girl’s expression was totally blank. She tried to shake the singer, but she was still unresponsive. “Oh dear… “

_Sayaka sobbed as she heard the door to Makoto’s bathroom rattle intensely and Leon’s muffled sounds of anger. Idiot idiot idiot… I’m such an idiot! She repeatedly thought, head in her arms. Why did I think this would work? Why did I think this at all!? Her thoughts came to a halt as she heard something. Something that terrified her more than anything._

_The sound of the doorknob breaking._

_The sound of the door opening._

_Sayaka looked up, tears flowing out of her eyes like a river._

_“Leon.”_

_“You.”_

_“Leon please.”_

_“You bitch!”_

_Sayaka opened her mouth to try to reason with him more, but one look at his face stopped her. This figure standing before was not Leon. Well, technically it was, but the rage in his eyes was unlike anything she’d seen. It was inhumane. It looked like something out of a movie. She knew she wouldn’t be able to stop him. She knew she was going to die. And she knew it was all her fault. All she could do was cry._

_She cried and screamed as Leon stabbed her with the very own she stole to kill him with. Though, he covered her mouth, so no one could hear her pain. Not even Makoto, who was probably sleeping soundly right now. She felt terrible knowing they’d think he killed her. She felt terrible knowing her find out his only friend betrayed him. But what hurt most was the knife in her stomach._

_God it hurt_

_So. Much._

_Through half-lidded eyes, she watched Leon stand up and look at his work. She watched his eyes go wide, his body stiffen, and his hands shake as it all kicks in to him. She smiled faintly as he ran out, slamming the door behind him. When he leaves, she slumped her head, feeling her life slip away. Although, she had a bit of life in her, so she decided to do something good for once. With the last of her energy, she left a little something for the others, fighting through her pain. Something…_

_She could feel the presence of death. Coming for her._

_Soon_

_And sooner_

_And sooner it came_

_And then, all at once_

_It was over_

“Sayaka!” Hina yelled, shaking her shoulders, bringing her back to life. The singer gasped as she tried to readjust herself, which the shaking complicated. Eventually Hina stopped, leaving Sayaka some space to breathe. Uh, and cough too. A lot. “ Oh my god, I was so worried! You weren’t responding and then you were crying and I didn’t know what to do!” I was… crying? she thought. She brought her hand to her cheek and sure enough, they were wet. 

“I...I’m” The bluenette began. “I’m so sorry I- I just- That thing reminded me of that night… “ 

“Oh.” Hina responded. “Oh my gosh I’m so sorry. Do you need some water?” Sayaka shook her head no. The singer sighed, and put her shirt back down again.

“I’m sorry but… I don’t think I’m going to be able to lift my shirt again. See that. Again.” Sayaka muttered, looking away defeatedly. Surprisingly, Hina nodded and took the cloth shirt.

“That’s fine. I’ll just go and get a key from someone upstairs. Do you… Do you want to come with me?” Hina asked, setting the shirt on a countertop.

“No!” Sayaka exclaimed, sitting up straight in an instant. “Uh, I mean… no thanks.” 

“Oh, ok! Hang tight then!” With that, Hina walked out of the infirmary, giving Sayaka one last glance before she closed the door.

  
\--------------------------------

“AGH!!! STOP BEING CLASSIFIED!” Yasuhiro yelled, glaring at the computer screen in front of him.

“Hiro please, we’re all already stressed” Kyoko sighed, clearly upset with her own lack of findings. Makoto looked at the two, a tired expression on his face. He had suggested everyone search for clues while Hina looked after Sayaka, but they weren’t having much luck. Well, he wasn’t sure how Byakuya and Toko were doing in the library, but he hoped it was better than them. 

“Come on guys, we can’t give up hope! There has to be something!” Makoto said, trying to give them moral support. 

“Oh come on Makoto, I can see the tired written all over you!” Yasuhiro exclaimed. “All we’ve been getting is password requests and invalidations! The only way we’d be able to do anything is if we had Chihiro!” Makoto cringed a bit, the mention of Chihiro saddening him. But… there’s something about Chihiro that’s lingering in his mind… 

“Wait a moment…” Makoto began, only to be carried up by Kyoko.

“Alter Ego! We know he’s still alive because he stopped your execution! If we can somehow contact him, we might be able to get something.” The lavender-haired girl looked up at Makoto, a newfound determination in her eyes. She smiled at the boy, which caused him to faintly blush for some reason and weakly smile back.

“R-Right! He’s not as good as Chihiro, but it’s a start!” The two looked at each other, having found hope.

“This is some really weird flirting.” Yasuhiro said as he returned to the conversation as any idiot would do. His comment caused the other two to flush intensely, now avoiding each other’s gaze.

“Hiro!! We- no-we weren’t-!” Makoto yelped, his voice cracking like a prepubescent boy.

“We weren’t flirting Hiro. We were simply brainstorming.” Kyoko told him, her cheeks still red.

“Oh.” Hiro replied, sounding dumbfounded. “Ohhhhhh! My bad! Haha! So… are we gonna do the Alter Ego thing??” The three looked at each other, silent but agreeing.

“It’s all we can do. It’s our only hope.” Makoto declared. The three nodded, but before they could take a step they were interrupted by a certain swimmer violently pushing the door open.

“Agh! Hina!” Hiro yelled.

“Hina, what’s wrong? Is it something with Sayaka?” Kyoko questioned, her stern aura back.

“Well, yes, but it’s not serious! We just need a key to her room so we can get her some clothes!” Hina explained while regaining her posture. “So I came down here, since Makoto and Kyoko have ways to get there.”

“What? Me?” Makoto asked.

“Well yea, you had her key last, right?” Hina tilted her head with the question. Makoto’s eyes widened as he realized that she was indeed correct.

“Oh… yeah you’re right. But… I kept them in my dorm room, sorry.”

“It’s fine Hina, I have my all-dorm key. I’ll come with you and Sayaka.” Kyoko said, crossing her arms. Hina nodded.

“Great! Let’s go!” The brunette grabbed Kyoko’s arm and quite literally dragged her out of the room. Kyoko looked back and locked eyes with as she went through the door frame, both blushing at the eye contact. In a matter of seconds, the room consisted only of the two boys.

“Sooooo… “ Hiro began. “You and Kyoko, huh?”

“Hiro!!!” 

“What?”

“I-I don’t like her like that!” Makoto insisted.

“Sure, that’s why you blush every time she talks to you.” Hiro replied smoothly, looking straight at the shorter boy.

“T-That’s just a coincidence, I swear!” At that, Hiro burst into an intense fit of laughter, looking as if he might even cry. This lead to a very frustrated and flustered Makoto. “I’m serious!”

“Makoto, you like Kyoko as much as Byakuya doesn’t like Toko, and those are just facts dude.” 

“S-Shut up! Let’s just try to communicate with Alter Ego already… “

\--------------------------------

“Thank you again for coming with me Kyoko, I’m sure Sayaka will really appreciate being able to get out of those bloody clothes. I know I would!” Hina rambled as they went up the third floor stairs.”

“It’s really no problem Hina, we weren’t getting too much done anyways.” Kyoko replied. 

“Aw, really? That’s a bummer.” Hina said, skipping a step.

“Yes it is unfortunate, but right before you arrived we had an idea to try and contact alter ego. Since Alter Ego can hack, we figured he could help us out.”

“Wow, that’s really smart! I knew you guys would think of something!” Hina then looked to the side, seemingly wanting to talk but hesitating. “Also… there’s something important you need to know. It’s about Sayaka.”

“Oh, what is it?”

“Well, at first I gave Sayaka a hospital gown to wear, but when she went to put it on…” Hina explained. “There was this huge scar all over her chest! In fact, it was darkest where she was stabbed… how did I not realize that??” Kyoko’s eyes widened at the information just given to her. 

“Well, it’s obviously a result of the simulation… I guess there had to be some impact on their bodies… but still…” Kyoko replied, halting her steps and looking down. “This makes me wonder… how do the blackened look?” At this, Hina gasped and covered her mouth.

“Oh my god, I never thought of that! Their deaths were so brutal!” Kyoko nodded, her thoughts were the same. With this dreadful thought in mind, the two looked at each other and continued walking in silence. That is, until Hina smiled and said:

“So, I saw you look at Makoto before we left… what’s up with that?” The swimmer gave Kyoko a look that said exactly what she thought of it. Kyoko simply blushed and groaned in response

“Come on Hina, we have more important things to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Here's a longer chapter for you because I haven't updated in a while :) School is kicking my butt rn lmao. Hope you all have a lovely day!


	5. Chapter Five: Memory Lane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They start to remember, and are forced to remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy and sorry for any mistakes.

“Come on Hina, we have more important things to do.” Kyoko replied quickly, a heavy blush still evident on her face. The girl swiftly turned and continued to walk down to the second floor, not giving Hina time to respond. However, the swimmer quickly caught up with the detective, a sly smile dominating her expression. 

“Jeez Kyoko, you’re almost making it too easy!” Hina teased. “ It’s fine if you like Makoto, I really can’t blame you. He’s cute!” Once again, the lavender-haired teen groaned, obviously not enjoying the conversation. The brunette on the other hand, either didn’t notice or didn’t care, only giggling in response. After the brief conversation, the two continued their journey to the dorms and Sayaka. Kyoko looked around as they passed by each room, reminiscing the events that happened in each. Such events.. They feel like so long ago, but their imprisonment in the school had only been for a few weeks. The detective began to wonder… were their daily lives before their imprisonment this exciting? This full of hope, no matter how long it lasted? As she began to think more and more, her head began to throb in pain. She brushed it off, figuring it was only a result of the thinking. 

Eventually, the two made it to the dorm hall. Hina watched with eager eyes as Kyoko used her master key to unlock the door to the idol’s room. The quiet and slow click of the doorknob brought suspense to the girl’s minds. Hina hitched her breath as the door was swung open by Kyoko’s swift push. Fortunately but unsurprisingly, Sayaka’s room had the same appearance as any other. Kyoko, carefully made her way to the small closet, while Hina made her own journey to a drawer. Kyoko Opened the door to the small closet, only to be confused by the content. Of course, there were multiples copies of Sayaka’s normal attire, but other outfits were housed in the closet as well. For some reason, the simple variety made Kyoko’s ongoing headache worsen. Kyoko decided to just ask the swimmer for a second opinion. “Did she specify on what clothes she wanted?” Kyoko asked, poking her head out of the closet opening.

“What do you mean?” Hina asked. “We were only given one outfit to wear, which now that I think about it, is really weird. How did Junko get so many copies of our outfits?”

“But… there are multiple outfits in this closet.” Kyoko rebutted. “There’s the outfit we saw her wear, but also other outfits as well. They vary from casual attire to more flashy and bright clothing.”

“Huh? Really??” Hina asked, looking up from the drawers. She stood up and went to Kyoko, tilting her as she also saw the diversity of outfits. “This is… really strange. Why would she be the only one to have different outfits?” The more questions that arose, the more Kyoko’s head throbbed. Eventually she couldn’t take the pain, taking both hands and holding her head, begging for it to stop.

“Ah! Kyoko, are you alright?” Hina jumped at the action, worried for the detective. Kyoko tried to respond, but no words came out when she opened her mouth. Suddenly, she became dizzy, saw a bright light, and then… 

“Hey Kyoko, are you okay?” Sayaka asked, looking straight at her with worried blue eyes. “You haven’t said anything in a while, even when Byakuya intentionally said something factually incorrect!” Kyoko blinked, coming back from her space-out session.

“Ah, I’m sorry Sayaka. I guess I’m just worried about Makoto.” 

“I mean, he did get dragged off by Nagito.” Togami interjected, stirring his ~gourmet~ soup. “I guess I consider Nagito a friend of sorts, but he’s still insane. Really, we could be putting Makoto’s life on the line.” 

“You know, when someone says they’re worried, you usually try to cheer them up.” Hajime replied dryly, swallowing a bite of a sandwich. 

“Rich coming from the Reserve Course student,” Togami replied. “ And anyway, he’s better friends with you, so you should know how he is.”

“Oh, I definitely know how he is.” Hajime replied, cringing a bit.  
“You definitely know how he is in bed!” A random voice shouted. Kyoko couldn’t tell who it was at first, but she noticed Hajime glaring daggers at Kazuichi, so that must be who it was. She also heard Shuichi whisper “How did he even hear that…” .

“Shut the fuck up Kazuichi!!!” Hajime yelled back. As he finished his remark, Chiaki, who had been sleeping, lifted her head. 

“Huh? What’s- yawn- going on?” 

“Oh sorry Chiaki, Kazuichi’s just being Kazuichi again.” Hajime explained.

“Ah, I see.” The gamer slowly and hazily looked around the table, but her eyes widened as they set on Sayaka. “Wait, you’re -yawn- not Kaede… or Kokichi… “

“Oh yea, Sayaka’s here because the other musical ultimates are… out of commission.” Shuichi said, looking sadly at his own sandwich.

“Yea, Ibuki tried to do a ‘concert trick’, and it didn’t turn out well. Kaede got caught up in it, so Mikan is treating them in the nurse’s office.” Sayaka elaborated. “I originally only came over here to inform you all about Kaede, but I stayed!”

“Oh… ok” Chiaki replied. “It’s really nice of Mikan to treat them during her lunch period.” Before anyone could reply, a rumbling noise was emitted from above. Kyoko looked to see that part of the wall to the left of them was starting to crack.

“Everyone move!” She yelled. Those close to the crack quickly followed her instruction, scrambling to anywhere but. It was just in time too, because the ceiling gave way and out from it came… 

“Nagito!”

“Nagito!?” 

“Na...gito?”

“NAGITOOOOOO!!!!!” Nekumaru yelled as he ran towards the falling boy. Somehow, Nagito fell right into Nekumaru’s arms as the remains of the ceiling crumbled around them. “What are you doing fallin’ out of the ceiling like that!? That’s dangerous, you know!” The others watched the lucky student, awaiting a response. However, all the boy did was erupt into manic laughter. The laughter echoed through the cafeteria, being the only sound amongst the dumbfounded students. 

“What the… what’s he laughing for!?” Kazuichi questioned fearfully. 

“I told you I could do it Kokichi! Look, I fell right through and not a single scratch.” Nagito said, looking up. “Thanks Nekomaru, I appreciate you for helping trash like me. Although, I guess it’s fitting for someone of your talent.” The students followed his gaze to see that there were two heads poking out from the floor above. One was Kokichi Ouma, and the other Makoto Naegi.

“Aw, Nekomaru you big bully! I just lost ten bucks!” Kokichi whimpered, a dramatically sad expression on his face. Makoto, on the other hand, looked terrified.

“W… Why did you do that!?” The egg boy exclaimed. “You blew a hole in the ceiling, and I almost fell in with you!”

“Ah, but you see, this was really just a display of our luck, can’t you see it?” Nagito replied smoothly. “Being lucky are our only attributes really, so we can’t help make scenes so our talent can shine! With this, we-” before he could finish, a hand clamped over his mouth and another hand grabbed his arm and dragged him off of Nekomaru. The perpetrators turned out to be Hajime and Chiaki, both with tired faces.

“Sorry everyone, we’ll try to keep him in check more often.” Hajime called out, returning to the lunch table with the other two. After that, the other students returned to where they were if they could, while Kirumi and a few others went to cleaning. From there, the normal lunch atmosphere returned.

“Well, are you proud of yourself?” Byakuya asked. “This is, what, the third time you’ve destroyed school property in the last two months?”

“I would say yes, but I have a feeling you don’t want that answer, so I’ll just be quiet.” Nagito replied, snatching food from Hajime.

“Right.” Kyoko interjected. “Well, I think you may owe the school an apology.”

“You also owe me a new dress!” Sayaka said, with a slightly angry tone. Kyoko turned to see that Sayaka’s dress had a big soup stain over it. Knowing Sayaka, the dress was probably costly. “Your stunt cause my soup bowl to fall over!” 

“Aw. my bad. I’ll be sure to repay you.” Nagito said, a shocked expression dominating his face. “ Although, as the Ultimate Idol, you’d probably find a way to make it work, I’m sure.”

“Whatever.”

“Kyoko!” Hina yelled, holding Kyoko’s shoulders. The detective's eyes simple widened as she came back to her surroundings. “Are you ok? Just now you looked… empty.” Kyoko shook her head, still fuzzy from the unusual vision. 

“Yes, I’m fine… how long was I out?” 

“Just a few moments. I’m glad you woke up before you fell over!” Kyoko did a double take at Hina’s statement. Just a few moments? But… whatever just happened was well beyond that time limit. “Huh? Did something happen Kyoko?”

“Excuse me, I need to check something.” Kyoko mumbled as she turned again to the closet. She began to carefully sort through the clothes, the only sound being the hangers scraping against the horizontal pole holding them. Eventually, Kyoko stopped at a dress. The dress wasn’t out of the normal, at least for Sayaka. It was a light pink, with frills here and there , a silky soft texture, and sequins. However the dress was stained by something dark and red, ruining the dress’s appeal. “Ah, just as I thought.”

“W-What is that?” Hina squeaked, peeking from behind.

“It’s soup, nothing to be worried about.” Kyoko explained.

“Wait, h-how do you know that?” Hina asked in a voice considerably higher than normal.

“I… I’ll explain later, when we’re all together.” Kyoko stated, looking down in thought. Hina still looked worried, but decided to brush it off for now. 

  
  


“Wait… they went in the sauna together for… how long?” Sayaka asked, giggling uncontrollably. 

“Well, Makoto said he was there for at least an hour, but nobody really knows!” Hina replied, a grin evident on her face. The two laughed together as Kyoko simply smiled and drank her water. After returning to Sayaka with multiple clothing options, they had decided to stay in the infirmary until dinner, where everyone would meet up. To pass the time, Kyoko and Hina told Sayaka stories she had missed over the killing school life. So there they were, sitting on two of the cots laughing like old friends.

“Don’t forget how they acted after the incident. The two were practically inseparable, calling each other “bro” constantly.” The detective added with a sly smile. Sayaka giggled even more after hearing her, holding her stomach in her arms. Her clothes hadn’t changed much, but her uniform shirt had been replaced by a white tank top and a pink sweater that revealed her shoulders. (not welcome in a school environment!)

“Haha yea, they were super close!” Hina exclaimed. “Sometimes I couldn’t tell if they were ‘just friends’ or not! However… you could also say the same for Kyoko and Makoto.” Hina added with the most devious look she could muster.

“Hina!”

“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help myself!” Hina then leaned over to Sayaka. “You should’ve seen them. They practically solved the entire cases themselves, and spent a lot of time together!” Kyoko groaned as Hina giggled again, clearly happy with her teasing. Sayaka herself was… well at first she was shocked. Kyoko… had such an independent and cold demeanor when she first met her… and to think that… Sayaka then smiled.

“I’m happy for you. It sounds like you two have a really close bond after all of this. A trust that can’t be broken… no matter what happens… you’re always there for each other. I… wasn’t that person for him when I should’ve been, so I’m glad he found you.” There was a silence as the two other girls looked at her, unable to form a response. “Oh jeez, I made it depressing didn’t I?”

“Sayaka you’re gonna make me cry!” Hina wailed, hugging the girl. “I didn’t know you had such a way with words!”

“Well, she is the Ultimate Idol. I’m sure she has experience songwriting.” Kyoko determined, only a slight blush tainting her face. “Anyway, it’s nearly time for dinner, let’s head over.”

“On it!”

“... Alright.”

With that, the three girls walked the short journey to the cafeteria. They arrived as the first, so they just sat at the main table and talked amongst themselves. After awhile, they heard the door open, and they turned their heads. Sayaka hitched her breath, hoping it wouldn’t be-

“Usually I wouldn’t attend these kinds of affairs, as you know, but there are important matters to be discussed so here I am.” Byakuya greeted as he sat down with the other three. 

“Ah, Byakuya… “ Hina mumbled, clearly not happy.

“Where’s Toko?” Kyoko questioned, straightening her tie. Sayaka looked around, and only then noticed the writer was nowhere to be found. Didn’t Kyoko say they were looking for clues together?”

“Well if you must know, I figured someone had to watch to see if any other student awoke, so I chose the most useless of us too. Besides Yasuhiro and Hina, of course.”

“Hey! I’m right here!”

“Byakuya please, we have more important things to do than engaging in banter.” The progeny huffed and turned his head, not verbally replying but still getting his response across. It was then that the doors burst open to reve-

“Hey guys, sorry we were late! I got a headache and Makoto, the nice guy he is, helped me out.” Yasuhiro yelled, arms behind his head. Sayaka could only guess that he kicked the door open. However, that wasn’t what she focused on. Her eyes were in the other student entering the room, the student she had dreaded meeting again.

“Yea, sorry every-“ Makoto began, a shy smile on his face. However, his smile faded when he saw Sayaka. They locked eyes, frozen and unsure. Sayaka knew this would happen. She knew she would have to face this… but she wanted more time. She wasn’t ready for the guy who put so much trust in her to hate her. She deserved it, but she wasn’t ready.

“Oh…. Sayaka… you’re here.” Makoto said slowly, trying to regain his usual composure. “Uh… how are you feeling?” What? Why ... is he asking that? Why should he care… he shouldn’t! Why he… of all people, care about her…. it must be a ruse, she determined. It has to be.

“I'm ... fine.” She squeaked out. Her hands gripped onto her knees to hard she thought she’d pop them off. She knew he could tell she wasn’t fine, but he didn’t press it for some reason.

“Ah, that’s good. I bet hearing everything… is a lot to deal with.” 

“Yea….” silence hung in the room, so thick you could cut it clean through. The two looked away from each other, lacking words that could make them avoid what happened. Sayaka knew they wouldn’t be able to avoid it forever, but she couldn’t do this right now…

“Uh, well I for one am hungry, so how able Makoto and I cook something up for ya?” Hiro offered, his cheery aura breaking the silence. The others nodded, relieved the silence was over. Sayaka simply looked down at her hands, utterly unsure what to think or do.

  
  


“Alright everyone, dinner is served! My specialty, hamburgers!” Yasuhiro exclaimed as him and Makoto passed out dishes of the meal. “Hope they aren’t too bad.”

“These… look really good actually.” Hina said, surprised. She hesitantly picked up the burger, and put it to her lips. As she bit down, Kyoko swore she saw stars in Hina’s eyes. “Oh my god, Hiro when did you become a cook?!” More compliments soon came as more people began their dinners. Kyoko was surprised herself at the quality. She didn’t even know they had some of this stuff in the food supply, but that’s to be expected.

“Alright, now that everyone besides Toko is here, can we discuss our findings?” Kyoko asked, though with a tone that meant it wasn’t a choice. “Let’s start with Byakuya. Did you find anything?” 

“Well it was a bit difficult with her annoying me constantly, but I did manage to find some items that may help us restore our memories.” At that, everyone leaned in a bit. They couldn’t help it, the thought of getting their memories back was something they all wanted, needed. They needed to know what they were like before all of this.

“Well,” Hina began. “What is it?” 

“What I found…” Byakuya dragged out his words, clearly taking satisfaction in everyone’s exasperated and anxious faces. “Were photo albums and yearbooks, at least those from our time at hope’s peak. However, as I looked through them, there were many people in the photos who didn’t participate in our killing game.”

“What?!” Hiro gasped while his mouth hung open. “Really!?”

“Byakuya wouldn’t lie about this.” Makoto said. “... Right?’

“Of course not.” Byakuya. “I have no reason to. After all, we’re not in a game anymore.” Makoto smiled at Byakuya’s response, making the blonde uncomfortable, well at least that’s what it looked like. “Anyway, what were all able to find, hm?”

“Well, to be honest we didn’t find much” Kyoko began. “Most of the files we couldn’t access. However… we have a plan. That plan is to try to contact Alter Ego. We know he’s still alive, and since he’d do better than we could at decoding and hacking the files.” Byakuya nodded as he pushed his glasses up, which she took as a sign of achievement.

“I see.” He responded. He then sharply looked at Hina. “What about you? Did she put up any struggle?”

“She has a name, you know; it’s Sayaka.” Hina replied aggressively. “And as a matter of fact, she’s less difficult than you are.” Hina then hesitated, turning her head to the side. “Well actually.. There’s one thing you need to know.”

“Well? Spit it out.” Byakuya spat.

“Sayaka… when she changed she… “ Hina seemed to struggle to get the words out of her mouth. “She has a scar where she was stabbed. All over her chest.” Byakuya himself seemed a little off-put by this, but regained his composure. Makoto and Hiro, however, were more dramatic.

“Huh!?” Yiro yelled.

“But… it’s a simulation.” Makoto said “T-There’s no way!”

“It’s true, I saw it myself.” Kyoko said smoothly. “The scar is definitely there, right where we saw the knife. I can only imagine what the blackened have.” One by one, the others’ faces changed as they imagine the changes made by the brutal executions. 1,000 baseballs to the body… melted to butter… burned and hit by a fire truck… all despair-inducing and horrifying.

No one made a sound at first. The survivors sat quiet, not even able to eat at the moment. Then… a sound emerged

  
  


Sayaka was tired. She was tired, and confused, and scared, and… she didn’t know what to do. The girl felt tears felt tears well up in her eyes, her mental stability breaking. She begged herself to stop as the tears rolled down her face. She didn’t want this. She couldn’t put more on them, she can’t be more of a burden. However, her body continued to betray her as whimpers escaped her mouth. It was only then that the others noticed her.

“S-Sayaka?!” Hiro yelped, eyes widening. He was probably disgusted at her tears. Hina ran over to her, holding onto her arms.

“What’s wrong?” The brunette asked gently, leaning down to meet her eyes. Sayaka couldn’t take it anymore. She didn’t deserve this. SHE DIDN’T DESERVE THIS.

“How… How can you all sit here, acting like a person like me is here with you?!” She yelled out, tears flowing like a river. “I-I-... this killing game is my fault! I got selfish and tried...I tried to kill someone! I’m an attempted murderer! Don’t you understand, I’m a monster!” Sayaka couldn't stand to look at them as she choked on her own selfish tears.

“Sayaka… “ Makoto said gently. He tried to get up, but Kyoko stopped him.

“And you!” Sayaka continued, looking at Makoto. “How can you treat me so nicely!? I betrayed you, used you, you have to hate me! You have to… I can’t imagine it any other way!” 

“Sayaka… I don-”

“Don’t lie to me!” Sayaka stood up abruptly, looking at him dead on. “I don’t deserve your fake kindness. Just tell me you hate me, tell me the truth… it’s ok. It’s ok, ok!? IT’S OK TO HATE ME!!” She pushed past Hina, running out of the cafeteria. 

Then there was silence again. Everyone looked at each other, unsure what to do. Should they go after her? Go later??

“I’m… going to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself. In a state like that… who knows.” The swimmer ran after the girl, her footsteps the only sound.”

“I… wow.” Hiro breathed, eyes wide.

“She’s not exactly wrong, to be honest.” Byakuya stated while continuing to eat.

“D-Don’t say that!” Makoto argued. “We have no idea what she’s going through. I want to help but… I don’t think I could help her.” The boy frowned, clearly unhappy he couldn’t help for once.

“I agree Makoto, the smartest move is to let Hina handle it.” Kyoko began. “Now, I believe you mentioned a headache, right Hiro?”

“...Yea? Why?”  
“Well…”

Hina ran out of the cafeteria, desperate to find her friend. She stopped to think… where could Sayaka have gone? Probably not upstair… but maybe. But she’d probably go somewhere she knows. Where could that be? Hina wondered, deep in thought. Then she remembered something. Wait! Kyoko and I left Sayaka’s door unlocked, since we didn’t have her specific key yet. She ran to the right, hoping her guess was correct.

She arrived at Sayaka's dorm, yanking the doorknob, but to no avail. So I was right… She knelt down, and put her ear to the wooden door. She could faintly hear sobs from the other side. They sounded so… desperate and tragic. Hina sighed and opened her mouth.

“Sayaka… you don’t have to let me in, but please listen.” She began softly. “ To be completely honest, none of us know exactly how you feel, but we want to help you. I know you feel like a monster, but this isn’t your fault. You didn’t choose to participate in the game, none of us did. You can’t let this despair overtake you, you just can’t! We can’t lose you again!” 

No response.

Two days.

Sayaka spent two long days locked in her room. By herself. Barely moving, barely breathing. She knew the others were worried, she heard them come and go from her room. She heard them talk to her, begging her to come out. Hina, Makoto, Hiro, even the stern Kyoko came for a short time, though Makoto probably asked her to. She never responded. She knew she should, but she couldn’t muster the energy to to. She felt bad about it, making them worry about her like this, but she’d manage.

However, she did find out that she needed food at some point, so she was forced to pick herself up and drag herself out of her room. Luckily, it was late at night, so no one was around that she saw. Still, she crept the whole way, s l o w l y pushed the door open to the cafeteria, cringing at the squeak the doors made as they moved. Before entering fully, she peeked her head in, looking around the dark room for anything that resembled a classmate. Once she was sure of no one's presence, she crept over to the many crates of food, deciding on an apple, simple enough but enough to keep her from hunger she thought. She sat at a nearby chair, silently eating. Who could she even talk to? She didn't mind it however, simply being out of her room was refreshing to her. Suddenly, she heard a small noise and looked up, prepared to make a run for it and expecting the worst. However, out from the kitchen, a shocked look on his face, walked Makoto Naegi.

Of course, it was him.

“...Sayaka.”

“...” She couldn't move. Why couldn't she move? She wanted to run, our of the cafeteria, to her room, where she could avoid this. Them... them telling her that they forgive her. Why couldn't she move?!

Suddenly, Makoto ran. He ran and… wrapped his arms around her. What? She struggled but he actually had a stronger grip than she imagined. Why… why was he doing this?

“I’m so glad you’re okay, we were all so worried.” He whispered, hugging her closer. 

“W...What?” Was all she managed to sputter out. He then let go a bit, and pulled his face away to look at her. She felt tears already starting to form in her eyes, but was much to focused on what Makoto said to care.

“I don’t care what you say Sayaka, I won’t ever hate you. Yes, you did what you did, but we all did messed up thing, and it’s not our fault!"

"B-But-"

"No buts!-" Wow, Makoto had a a face she'd never seen him wear. It was... so serious, and passionate. "No matter what you say, I'm going to forgive you, and care about you, because that's the only way I can imagine moving on from this full of hope. I'm putting my hope in you, for all of us! I want you to rid yourself of your despair, and I want to be there to help you in whatever way I can!" Okay she was definitely crying now.

"Makoto..." She whispered, looking down at herself. "... Thank you."

"No worries Sayaka. If I let you do this by yourself, it would just be letting Junko win, you know?"

“What?” Now Sayaka was confused. “Why Junko? Wasn't she like, the fashionista?” 

“Oh… Hina didn’t tell you? Fun…” 

The next week was the best Sayaka could remember, which technically wasn't a lot, but it’s the thought that counts, right? The others for the most part welcomed her with open arms, which still made Sayaka uncomfortable. Hina was finally able to give her the school tour, which was interesting. Sayaka was especially excited about the music hall. How could she not be?? She probably performed here… in front of and with her friends. Hina said she could perform if she wanted, which she quickly agreed to. Hina herself was excited to show her the school pool, and she made Sayaka agree to swim with her at some point. 

Kyoko had made a cycle of people watching the bio lab, as no one knew when someone would wake up. At first, Sayaka wasn’t even on the list, as some feared Leon would be the next to wake, which was… understandable. But it could not be… right? Eventually, Kyoko agreed, on one condition.

“You have to be with someone else.”

So here she was, some time close to midnight, sitting next to Hiro on the ground of the Bio Lab. She was pretty sure Hiro was asleep, but she honestly expected that. She had a slight headache, but Sayaka was pretty sure it was just her nerves. She couldn’t help but feel nervous. What would she do if someone woke up? What if they were stronger than her? She closed her eyes, hoping it would soothe her nerves. She breathed steadily, in… and out. In… and out. It worked well enough, but her headache worsened. How… strange………………. 

  
  


Soft piano played from the music hall, but that was common at Hope’s Peak. Kaede tried to play whenever she could, and people enjoyed listening to her. She smiled and she played, each note filled with passion and elegance. What could ruin this?

“IBUKI SAYS IT’S GUITAR TIME!!!” Ibuki yelled as she ran on stage, electric guitar in hand. Without giving Kaede time to process, Ibuki slammed into her song\, making as much noise as possible. It was the exact opposite of Kaede, chaotic and disruptive, but somehow had its own grace to it. Sayaka laughed from the seats, watching Kaede attempt to accompany the musician. It was indeed chaotic, but after time the two managed to play in harmony. They only stopped when Fuyuhiko stormed in, yelling about the noise. After he left, the three looked at each other, then burst into laughter.

“That was great you two!” Sayaka complimented, wiping a tear.

“Ibuki says thank you!”

“Yes, thanks!” Kaede agreed. “Now we just need to find a way to incorporate you.” Sayaka nodded, excited to brainstorm. 

“Ibuki thinks there is something else we need to incorporate!” The girl said, eyes twinkling. 

“Uh… what?” Sayaka asked.  
“CONCERT STUNT TRICK!”  
“Ibuki-!”

Ibuki no!”

Sayaka jumped awake, startled. What was that? Who were those people? Did she… know them? She looked around, confirming she was still in the Bio Lab, and not in the music hall. _Weird…_ she thought. She put her head against the wall, listening to the silence.

Then she realized it wasn’t silent.

There was muffled banging and screaming.

And she could only think of one place it could be coming from.

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did not expect this chapter to be this long, but here we are. I wonder who it could be? Hmmmmm...  
> Have a lovely day y'all. :)


	6. Chapter Six: Batter Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're stupid. Stupid stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. Stupid stupid stupid STUPID stu-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Enjoy the chapter and sorry for any errors!

Sayaka jumped awake, startled. What was that? Who were those people? Did she… know them? She looked around, confirming she was still in the Bio Lab, and not in the music hall. _Weird…_ she thought. She put her head against the wall, listening to the silence.

Then she realized it wasn’t silent.

There was muffled banging and screaming.

And she could only think of one place it could be coming from.

...

……..

……………….

…………………………………………….

_Oh_

_Oh wait_

_This is hilarious_

_You thought I was going to start where I left off, didn’t you?_

_Well I did that before, but I wanted to spice things up_

_Seems you’ll have to wait a bit before finding what happened, won’t you?_

  
  


“I agree Makoto, the smartest move is to let Hina handle it.” Kyoko began. “Now, I believe you mentioned a headache, right Hiro?”

“...Yea? Why?”  
“Well…” Kyoko began. “I had one too, earlier today.”

“Uhh, good for you?” Hiro rubbed the back of his head, not sure how to respond.

“What are you trying to say Kyoko?” Byakuya interrogated .

“Before I answer that, let me asked Hiro a question.” She looked at the man in question. “Has your headache gone away at all?” This question left the clairvoyant deep in thought, though the question wasn’t a complex one.

“Well, Makoto did get me medicine but… now that I think about… no! In fact, I think it’s getting worse.” While the other two looked confused at this, Kyoko simply nodded.

“I thought such. The same exact thing happened to me. And when it did… I had a vision.” 

‘W-What? Like a future vision!? That’s my thing!!” Hiro exclaimed, going from shocked, confused, then to angry. It was weird, how quick he could change.

“Yea, what do you mean?” Makoto asked, focusing on her instead of his food.

“It wasn’t a future vision. It was… a vision of the past.” Kyoko revealed, only to continue. “I was reliving an old memory from Hope’s Peak as if I remembered everything, and everyone.”

“How can you be sure it’s real!? What if it was just a hallucination?” Hiro yelped, grabbing his hair.

“Also… what do you mean ‘everyone’?” Makoto added.

“I really shouldn’t be saying this while people are missing but I have the feeling you’re going to make me, so here’s my answer.” She began. “I knew it was real because I found something in Sayaka’s room that I saw in my vision. In my vision, I was at lunch, sitting with Sayaka, Byakuya, Makoto, and… others I didn’t recognize but knew.”

“You knew them, but didn’t recognize them?” Makoto asked. “How is that possible?”

“I’m not sure, but I did.” Kyoko said. “In my vision, we are all talking until… this kid… falls through the ceiling. He was okay, but Sayaka’s soup fell on her dress. Now this may seem like just like a dream, but after I woke up, I checked her closet. There… I found it. The same dress from my vision, complete with the stain.”

“Impossible.” Byakuya interjected. “Why would she have multiple outfits in her closet? Are you saying what she was wearing earlier wasn’t from the warehouse?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”

“But… none of us had other outfits in our closets, right?” Makoto asked. The others nodded in confused agreement. “So… why did she? How did those outfits get into Sayaka’s closet?”

“I have my theory, but I want to hear what you think.” Kyoko stated. “If we all come to the same conclusion, we can know how to check it and move forward.”

“Great, of course you won’t tell us.” Byakuya commented.

“You’ve also had your fair share of hesitations Byakuya, this should not be new to you.” she rebutted, glaring at the taller boy. The two had an intense staredown, neither willing to back down. Fortunately, Makoto stepped in before it got out of hand. 

“H-Hold on guys, let’s just focus on figuring this out.” Makoto calmly began. “Now, let’s think. How could Sayaka’s clothes have been where they were?”

“Well, what if they were just there from the start?” Hiro suggested.

“No, that can’t be it. Why would she be the only one to have extra clothes?” Makoto replied, hand resting on his chin.”

“Then they must have been put there afterwards. The question is why.” Byakuya pushed up his glasses as he gave his input.

“Also, when were they put there? She was the first to die, so why do it for her?” Hiro asked, sounding more confused by the second.

“Think about the final trial.” Kyoko said abruptly. “If you do, the answer will be clear.”

“The… final trial?” Makoto repeated, even more confused.

“It has to do with Junko?” Hiro exclaimed, clutching his mess of a hair. There was silence as the three boys thought, hoping the motive becomes clear. Kyoko sighed, not knowing it would be this difficult. Did the trials teach them nothing?

“No… I don’t think that’s it…” Makoto began. _Come on Makoto, I know you can figure this out._ Kyoko thought, determined. “I think it has to do with uncovering the secret of the school.” The detective smiled.

“Ah, I think I’m seeing what Kyoko is.” Byakuya began. “But we can only check to be sure.” Suddenly, the progeny stood. “Follow me.” With that, he left the cafeteria with swift steps, not bothering to wait for the others. Although, her didn’t have to, as those in the cafeteria ran after him. Not that they necessarily knew why, they just had an urge… a feeling that they should. Even though it is Byakuya, that ass. 

With clumsy feet and murmuring, the four stood in front of Byakuya’s room. Of course, on the way, Kyoko and Makoto had stopped by Sayaka’s room to hear an update from Hina. Unfortunately, the swimmer held no good news. As it turned out, Sayaka had yet to respond to anything Hina said or did, which was worrying of course. Although the worrying was mostly Makoto; Kyoko was confident Sayaka would come out in time. After all, even Idols need to eat. From there they followed the sound of Hiro’s naturally loud voice, finding both him and Byukuya before the progeny’s dorm, with said progeny unlocking it. He grimaced as Hiro waltzed in, clearly not pleased with the idea of anyone besides him entering his dorm. Which Kyoko guessed is fair enough, but mostly just part of his personality.

Walking into his room, Kyoko immediately could tell this room belonged to Byakuya Togami. While the carpet was still its navy blue color, the walls were a dark cool gray, rather than the usual bright red. The decor and furniture were fairly similar to those of any dorm, just more grand and expensive-looking. Either Monokuma knew Byakuya wouldn’t settle for anything less than rich, or he made Toko do it.

“Wow, this room is… very different from mine,” Makoto whispered as he gently walked in, seemingly too afraid to take a heavy step.

“Agreed,” Kyoko commented. 

“Yes, yes, it’s different. That’s not what I came here for. I certainly didn’t allow you… all to come in here to gawk like children,” Byakuya scoffed. Not caring for a response (just like him to do that), he walked over to his closet, and swung open the door. Kyoko followed him, along with Makoto and Hiro. 

“Wha… what the!” Hiro yelped, beige eyes glued to the contents of Byakuya’s wardrobe.

“Well, Kyoko? Is this what you expected,” Byakuya looked to the girl as he gestured to his closet. Said closet was filled with suits fitting of Byakuya, but that wasn’t the surprising part. Among these suits where ones no one had seen him wear, differing in colors and style.

“Hm. Seems as though I was correct,” Kyoko stated, ignoring Byakuya’s comment. “As you can see, Byakuya closet, like Sayaka’s, has more than just the clothes we’ve seen.”

“Uh… this is great and all, but I’m even more confused now,” Hiro interjected, rubbing his head. Makoto nodded along, but looked deep in thought, and Kyoko could practically see the gears turning in his mind. He was definitely on to something, hopefully the right track.

“Let me answer you with a question Hiro,” Kyoko began as she turned to Byakuya. “Byakuya, when was the last time you checked your closet besides just now?” 

Byakuya thought for a second before replying. “Well if you must know, I believe it was the day of our last trial, that morning.” He shrugged at his reply, but Makoto jumped.

“Ah! I get it,” The small boy exclaimed. “The extra clothes we’ve seen were added later, as a clue for the secret of Hope’s Peak. Although, I guess we never ended up actually using it ...”

“Wait, is the clothes were never there from the start?,” Hiro asked.

“Obviously,” Byakuya began. “if I had the option, why would I wear this outfit every day? This also explains Kyoko’s talk from earlier.”

“Exactly! My theory is that Junko added these here while we were investigating to see if we’d notice. Even though we didn’t, we still won, so she was never able to remove them,” Makoto stated, smile on his face. Kyoko herself allowed a small grin at the boy’s accomplishment.

“Exactly.” 

  
  


“Is it just me or is the world spinning? … Woah…” 

“Hiro!”

“I think his first ‘vision’ is starting.”

“Oh great.”

  
  
  
  


Toko nervously hummed and shivered as she paced around the Bio Lab, although she knew she really shouldn’t be calling it that. They now knew it was the morgue, and she was currently in a room with eight dead people. Of course, that was the last thing she wanted to think about, as anything related to death reminded her of… _her_ , so she’ll call it the Bio Lab. Of course, if Master Byakuya says she should do otherwise, she’ll obviously comply in a heartbeat. Who was she to do otherwise? She was nothing but lowly trash, a servant not worthy to be even a servant to Master Bya-

She shook her head. She didn’t have time for this, she had to do what Master instructed; keep guard for… more dead kids. She shook her head again. Why was she doing this? Dead people?? Her?? She… couldn’t do this,,,,, no, she had to. Because… if she does, Master… will know she’s useful. A-And then, he’ll see her in a new light, and…. And…….. 

“O-Our love will be sealed! We’ll love each ot-other for eternity, and I w-won’t n,need anyone else!” Toko laughed to herself, holding her frail body in her arms. “I…… won’t…… n-need…….. Anyone……. Else,” Suddenly the girl was shaking, tears threatening to roll out. W-What happening to me? Why am I crying!? The girl thought as she shuddered. What is her body trying to tell her?

“Why am I like this?”

Toko whispered the phrase to herself, in a trance of self hatred, but was interrupted. To be specific, a noise erupted from outside of the Bio Lab. Coming back to herself, Toko could just barely hear the faint sound of footsteps quickly fading away. _Huh…?_ She thought. _I thought everyone was at dinner… maybe someone was just pitying me and decided to check up on me…. whatever_

  
  


_(Back to present time)_

“Hiro? Hiro are listening to me?” A feminine voice rang loudly through his ear, giving Yasuhiro a jump back to reality. After a moment of shaking and a yelp, he remembered that he was calling his mom, and the voice belonged to such. Somehow he’d… zoned out while she was talking? Huh. He should probably get better sleep.

“Oh uh, sorry mom, I’m just really tired, y’know?” Hiro mumbled with a chuckle.

“ Aha, yea, that’s my Hiro,” The voice responded with a breathy laugh. “So, as I was saying, how are things? I haven’t seen you in some time.” 

“Things are awesome here mom,” Hiro chuckled into his response. “Not only are they trying to make my talent better, but they’re also focusing on my education. It’s actually kinda weird, having teachers who really want you to succeed. I’ve also made some pretty cool friends.”

“Really? That’s great. I used to hate sending you to those schools with teachers that couldn’t give two shits, annoyed me.”

“Yea, you really did get annoyed,” Hiro shivered at the memory of his mother yelling on the phone. He was always glad it wasn’t him. “How have you been mom?”

“Oh, momma’s been great Hiro. I’m actually considering getting a pet or somethin, to keep me company,” She replied smoothly. “What do you think? Would a pet suit me?” Hiro chuckled, imagining his mom with a big fat dog or chubby cat, just vibing.

“Yea, definitely.”

“Nice,” his mom began. “Now, back to your school life. You told me you had some friends, and I’m going to assume you weren’t lying. How are they? Leon still tryin’ to be a rockstar?” 

“Leon…” Yasuhiro mumbled.

_Why did the name seem weird._

_Leon…_

_…………………_

_………...Leon…………..._

  
  


“Yasuhiro help! It’s Leon!”

  
  


Hiro awoke to screaming.

  
  


(Ok last time I promise)

Sayaka jumped awake, startled. What was that? Who were those people? Did she… know them? She looked around, confirming she was still in the Bio Lab, and not in the music hall. _Weird…_ she thought. She put her head against the wall, listening to the silence.

Then she realized it wasn’t silent.

There was muffled banging and screaming.

And she could only think of one place it could be coming from.

Shit

Sayaka jumped up from her uncomfy spot and ran the short distance to the chambers, humming a tune to calm her nerves. It wasn’t difficult to determine which had a now-alive student, said chamber had a rapidly blinking light, and whoever it was was being pretty loud. From what she heard, she was like 90% sure it was a male, but then again she didn’t really know anyone long enough to recognize their voice. _Except you did._ Her voice rang, but she only shook her head. She didn’t have time for this! She needed to free her classmate! Her and-... wait a moment. Where the heck is Hiro? She wasn’t asleep that long, right? And he wouldn’t have left her… well maybe he would, she wasn’t sure.

The idol turned around, only to see the clairvoyant with his head back, mouth open, and body most certainly asleep and in no way helpful to her. Great. Was he snoring too?

“Hiro!” She anxiously called. “Hirooo!!! Come on, wake up!” No response. Great, she had no idea what time it was, there was a previously deceased person in her own care, by herself, because the person she’s with isn’t awake!!! Of course, she could just go and wake him physically...yea. But… Sayaka turned back and realized then that her noise had alerted the anonymous body of her presence, which only increased his(?) yelling. Sayaka hummed and squealed nervously at his desperate cries. He sounded… terrified. _What happened to him?_ She wondered. She really needed to get him out. Now. But… how is she going to handle them?

_Doesn’t matter. Just get him out._

“D-don’t worry! I’m going to get you out of there!”

Sayaka turned again to the door with the flashing light. Then she realized she had no idea how to open the door. There seemed to be… buttons, but of course no labels, nothing to indicate an easy escape. Welp, only one option now. She thought. Naturally, she began pressing all of the buttons, but separately and cautiously. She wouldn’t be surprised if Junko (still getting used to the whole “Junko mastermind” idea) did something crazy like rig the buttons or something similar. Maybe… 

Press…

Press press………..

Press! Press press press!!!!!

*ding*

“Finally!” The ultimate whispered. She yanked open the door, flinching as the screaming got louder.

And out came Leon Kuwata.

Right out onto the floor, in fact.

“What the fuck i-“ Leon screamed before tumbling to the ground. Sayaka watched as he tried to get up, but… struggled as if he couldn’t support himself. Sayaka herself… she was a little too distracted to help him out. To be exact, she was struck frozen by the fact that her murderer was _right there_. Eventually, Leon realized he most definitely did not get out by himself, and looked up. His face instantly paled as his eyes met with blue ones, blue ones that unmistakably belonged to the very girl he killed. In a matter of seconds, Leon yelped and tried to get up again, getting on his knees before collapsing again. When that didn’t work, he began to desperately crawl, seemingly anywhere that’s away.

“Leon!” Sayaka half-shouted as she carefully crouched beside him and pulled him by his leg surprisingly easily, finally coming to her senses. He may be her murderer, but there’s more to the story than that… and she still needs to help him come to his senses. She cautiously turned him over, noticing that he was shaking. Was it from the refrigerator? She thought. She didn’t remember being cold, but she did faint pretty quickly after waking. Once again, his grey eyes met hers, shakily but still, but this time she was able to read his face. _It’s...he’s...afraid_ she deduced But..there’s something else...guilt. Her heart panged with a weird mix of emotions as she realized it. But before she could come back to her senses (again), Leon wriggled out of her grasp, but this time… curled into a ball, muttering to himself. It was… strange, seeing him like this. I… I can do this. _I can take him out of this despair he’s in._ The idol then scooted closer to the redhead, and pushed his hands from his eyes gently.

“Stupid stupid stupid stupid… ” She heard him whispering to himself. What?

“Leon, breathe and calm down ok? I know it’s weird. I mean...I’m supposed to be dead too.” She whispered softly. Leon’s look still didn’t leave him. In fact, he seemed to get worse. Much. Worse.

“No…” he whispered, although it was barely audible. “No no no no NO! No! This…. this isn’t… I’m not.. i… you… FUCK! Why are you- why am i-“ He yelled, although it seemed him throat was straining to keep it above whispering level. Sayaka could tell he was starting to lose control of himself.

“Leon-“

It was at this beautiful moment that Yasuhiro Hagakure decided to jump back to reality, with an “ACK”, at that. Sayaka looked over in disbelief, and the two locked eyes.

“Yo, Uh-“

“Yasuhiro help, It’s Leon!”

“I remember!! I remember getting fuckin executed! 1000 baseballs at my body! Over and over and over and over and-and-and-it hurt! It hurt so fuckin bad oh my god! I wanted it to just end! And-and...I-I murdered you! You! I saw it!! I did it!! I don’t FUCKIN UNDERSTAND!” Leon yelled, shaking harder than before. Sayaka didn’t one what to do. She wanted to comfort him, but she’s pretty sure she’d make it worse. Thankfully, Hiro rushes over to them, wrapping an arm around Leon and hoisting him up a bit.

“Sayaka, you go get the others, I’ll stay here.” Hiro said, staring and Sayaka with the most serious look she’s ever seen him wear.

“A-alright.” She stammered, then proceeded to rush out. _Hiro was so… leaderlike back there, it was strange. But I’m glad, I know I’m not the best person for Leon to see right now…_

  
  


Hagakure sighed as Sayaka rushed out of the room with frantic steps. That was… not the most pleasant way to wake up. For sure. Hiro looked to the side at his friend, who was now shaking and panting. Clearly, he went past his limit with all of that screaming. However… there was something else.

For the first time, the clairvoyant was able to get a good look and the redhead.

Leon Kuwata was definitely alive.

But… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait and kinda filler-y chapter ya'll. I actually had a lot more planned for this chapter buuuuut writer's block and school have not been treating me well. I'll try to be more consistent!  
> Have a lovely day and thanksgiving!  
> (Also Leon's here!! The boy!!)  
> (Also Also!!! Thank you all so much for 100+ kudos and 1000+ hits!!!!!!! It really means a lot :) )


	7. Chapter Six: Mutual Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> User j0ss says: Hiro-Leon supportive friends right!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kinda sucks but hopefully you enjoy it! The first scene is based on the anime, but I may update it to be more like the game since that has hecka feels.

Warning: The beginning of this chapter describes the execution of Leon Kuwata, which may be uncomfortable for some.

“PUHUHU! That’s right! Good job on voting correctly! Sayaka Maizono’s murderer was none other than Leon Kuwata!” Monokuma’s voice rang through the trial room, seconds earlier filled with shouting but now dead silent. All eyes were on the red-haired baseball player, faces shocked, horrified, and afraid. They had a million things they wanted to ask him, tell him, but nothing was ever said. The boy himself was totally unlike his usual personality, head hung, eyes wide, and body shaking. 

“I-I…uh… ” He could barely speak. Of course… he’s known all along he had killed Sayaka… but to hear it out loud in front of everyone, he couldn’t help but feel… true, undeniable despair. “She… she was tryin’ to kill me right?” He said, his throat straining to push out the words. Suddenly, he broke, ripping his head up to the silent students. “WHAT IF SHE HAD GONE AFTER YOU?! YOU ALL WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING IN MY SHOES!!” Leon felt himself go weak, sobbing pathetically. “Please… no…”

“Puhuhu! Sorry, but rules are rules! Too bad, so sad! Hope you’re ready!” Monokuma laughed maniacally, his voice echoing in Leon’s brain. He’d almost forgotten… the punishment… 

“Wait- Please… please no! I-It’s not right! ``I-I didn’t WANT to… ah-”

“Right? Golly, I never said it was RIGHT! Anyway, you should’ve thought about that before losing your cool last night, huh?”

“NO!! No no no… this can’t be happening’! This can’t happen! I’m… I’m just a kid! I can’t do this! There has to be another way!” Leon knew he was being desperate, that everyone was watching and was not going to help, that there was no avoiding this, but… he wasn’t prepared to die… 

“Oh man, what a show! Anyway, everyone say goodbye to Leon Kuwata while you can, because now’s time for his despair-inducing punishment! Puhuhuhu!” Leon looked around the room, desperate for someone to do something, anything. He was met with cold eyes.

“No! No no no no no, please. NOOOOO-” Leon was cut off by something cold and hard wrapping around his neck, then jerking him back with no warning. He choked out dry, desperate screams as he was painfully dragged to who knows where, he could barely see with the cold dark and the pain in his neck. 

A second later, Leon Kuwata found himself in the place he least wanted to be if he were to die. A fucking batting cage. Great. Using what little mobility he had, he looked and noticed two things. One, his classmates were just outside of the cage somehow, though they didn’t seem too keen on doing anything but watching. Two, there was… monokuma setting up a… pitching machine? But there’s no… wait…. No… it couldn’t be…

“I call this punishment ‘The 1000 Blows’! Puhuhu, pretty fitting right? Let’s begin!”  
It could be. 

Before he could respond, pain shot through his body from his chest. He yelped at the sudden hit, but barely so before he felt it again. That familiar feeling from practice when he’d miscalculate and proceed to get hit. Then he felt it again. And again. Then again, Then… two? Three? Again?! More!? This… this was more than he could bear… this! He screamed again, he screamed and he shouted and he yelled but he knew no one could hear him. He could barely think…. This constant pain… who even was he? Leon began to cry when the little fucker began spinning, hitting him constantly from all sides. Again. Again. again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and-

The last thing he saw was a baseball rushing toward his face.

Silence

He felt… awake… but just barely… floating almost

It felt like an eternity, yet also no time at all

_ “Is this what’s it’s like to be dead?” _

…

Is what he thought before he woke up.

  
  


Yasuhiro Hagakure sighed, turning and looking at the boy beside him with half-lidded eyes. The clairvoyant, despite taking a nap earlier that day, was tired out of his mind. After being abruptly awoken to an awakened friend, he had been tasked with looking after Leon. However, the task was much more boring than he had anticipated. So far, ginger had not spoken a word since his fit in the lab and being taken down to the infirmary. So, Hiro had no idea what was going on in his head, although he imagined it was nothing good. He wished he could be able to help, but… he honestly had no idea what to do. But there was something nagging in the back of his head, something telling him that he should know how. He sighed again and recounted the events of the morning.

_ For the first time, the clairvoyant was able to get a good look and the redhead. _

_ Leon Kuwata was definitely alive. _

_ But… _

_ “Oh my god…” He whispered to himself, shocked by the sight. The sight itself, was horrifying to be frank. The once pale fair-skinned boy was, from what he could tell, covered in bruises ranging in size and vividness. Leon’s clothes were ripped to the point where they were just hanging on at parts, exposing deep bruises on his chest and arms. His clothes were also stained to near completion by what he wished he didn’t know was Leon’s blood. Really, Hiro was surprised Leon had been able to move.  _

_ Hina had been the first to arrive, as expected with her athletic ability. Upon arriving, she turned on the remaining lights, and gasped at the sight. Hiro saw Leon weakly look up, only to hang his head again.  _

_ “Hiro… is.. Is that Leon!?” The swimmer whispered-yelled, attempting and failing to be quiet. Hiro motioned for her to be quiet, but nodded. She walked over gently, grabbing a blanket and laying it on top of Leon, to which he was unreactive. _

_ Kyoko and Togami came together a bit later, with Toko trailing behind, seemingly frustrated. The group seemed less reactive to Leon’s condition. That is, until Toko yelped and fainted both dramatically and loudly. He’d almost forgotten… Toko was v e r y terrified of blood.  _

_ “Um, should we do something about her,” Hiro asked. “Doesn’t she like… turn into the other her when she faints?” _

_ “I can do it.” Hina said. “I’m the strongest out of all of us, so I think I can carry her somewhere, then come back.”  _

_ “No Hina, we need you here,” Kyoko replied abruptly, eyebrows furrowed. “We need your strength here. So… Byakuya-” _

_ “Absolutely not.” He said quick and sharp, light somehow reflecting off of his glasses. He had crossed his arms, probably meant to look intimidating, but looked like a whiny toddler to Hiro. _

_ “Byakuya, I know you aren’t fond of the idea, but you need to put this… grudge aside so we can solve this. She’s asleep anyway, so you may be lucky enough to get back without having to interact with her.” The detective explained. The heir aggressively huffed in reply, but even Hiro could tell that Kyoko had won the argument, at least for now.  _

_ “Speaking of “luck”, where is Makoto?” Hina butted in, looking away from Leon.  _

_ “He’s probably with Sayaka; I can imagine he didn’t want to leave her alone. However, that’s just my theory, could you check Byakuya?” Kyoko responded with a smirk, cheekily looking at the taller boy. He gritted his teeth, clearly wanting to giving a witty and mean response, but he instead just turned toward Toko. _

_ The group watch, some giggling, as Byakuya grumbled about “peasants” and “I’m too good for this” while carrying Toko (more like dragging her, yeesh).  _

_ However, seeing as Leon was still shivering and very not okay, they couldn’t laugh forever. Simultaneously, they fell silent, and looked back at the now awake boy. _

  
  
  


“Coughhg-cou-ha-COUGH cough.”

Hiro snapped back to reality at the noise, looking over at the only possible source. To Hiro’s horror, Leon had indeed coughed… coughed up blood that is. The pink blood stood out grossly from the white cot sheets. Leon also had blood on his hands, probably an attempt to conceal the blood; too bad there was way too much to do that. The ginger’s eyes met Hiro’s making him yelp. Leon looked… guilty… and hurt... what was he doing, sitting here like this!? He needs to help Leon!!

The clairvoyant jumped up, quickly wobbling to the sink to get leon some water. Hiro was a little ashamed to admit that he took wayyyyyy longer that he should have, anxiety not helping him in the slightest (then again, did it ever?). Just how hard does it have to be to keep his hands steady?!

After a little too much struggle, Hiro was back at Leon’s cot, helping the boy drink the very (not at all) nutritious sink water. Hiro had his hand on the back of Leon’s head, the other holding the small paper cup. He noticed that Leon’s hands were about halfway raised, and shaking. _ I bet he’s not used to being this… helpless. _ He thought.

“Um, so, this is kind of… awkward… so I’m just gonna talk at you, okay?” Hiro blinked as the words spilled out of his mouth. Leon also looked a bit surprised, his eyebrows raised and eyes on him. Did he really just say that? Oh jeez…. what was he doing??? Well, might as well go along with it. “I uh… I miss my mom.”

Why the fuck did he start with that?

Leon’s eyes widened a bit, his mouth closing. Ah… there’s no more water left… however, leon seems a bit more interested in his story now.

“Yea… she was the person in my motive video way back when,” Hiro set the cup on the small bland nightstand, setting his hand into his lap. “ Of course, my mom’s a really strong person, so I’m sure she’s okay… I just can’t wait to see her again, you know? I just, she… she really was there for me my whole life.”  _ Wow Hiro way to make it sad, how about you go and- _

“I’m looking forward to seeing my cousin again.” Hiro looked at the boy, wide-eyed. This was the first time he’d heard Leon say something… normally since his death. To be honest. He wasn’t expecting it. He didn’t even think Leon would be able to talk, considering he was just coughing up blood. He decided to stay silent for the time being, seeing if the boy had anything else to say.

“I mean… I am and I’m not. She’s my cousin, and she was in my motive video, so obviously I care for her a lot… I love her like a sister,” Leon voice cracked as he spoke, and Hiro could tell if it was due to emotion or physical struggle. “ But… ever since we were little, she… she loved me as more than that. I always rejected her, and thought it was a phase. I felt terrible, seeing her all alone, but… “ Leon looked conflicted as he spoke, an aura of guilt surrounding him. 

“Wow,” Hiro responded, quite eloquently. He blinked as he slowly took in the information just given to him. Jeez… Leon had it rough.

“Hehe yea… I just hope she was able to move on… and maybe even find someone of her own.”

“Well… we can help each other find our people when we get out of here! Two heads are better than one,” Hiro exclaimed loudly. “ Then, when we find them, because we will, we can sort everything out!” To be honest, Hiro wasn’t the smartest or most confident person, but he felt pretty good saying those words. Leon seemed to as well, cracking his first smile, albeit a small faint one.

“Wh… Why are you being so nice to me? I… I did something unforgivable.” He whispered, ruining the good connotation of his smile. The boy looked down, and lowered his arms.

“Well… yeah you killed someone,” Hiro started, wincing as he realized that was a shitty start. “But, you really have to consider the circumstances, right? We were shoved in a place basically made to make us kill each other.That alone makes things wack. And really, you didn’t technically kill her, she’s in the school alive right now, probably with Hina or Makoto.”

Before Leon could respond, the infirmary door opened, and Kyoko walked in. She had apparently ditched her game uniform in favor of a grey button-up and black pencil skirt, very formal. However, she did seem to have her typical jacket hung over one arm, taken off for some reason. However, Hiro was more focused on something else; Kyoko had brought them lunch! From what he could tell, it was simple. Soup and crackers. 

“Aw man, that looks good! Thanks Kyoko, you’re the bomb,” The clairvoyant started enthusiastically. “Any, uh, updates?”

“Unfortunately, no,” She replied, setting the tray of food next to him. “ Even with the added help of Sayaka, we still can’t find Alter Ego. I fear he may be gone for good… How is Leon’s condition?”

“Uh, well he… coughed up some blood… but we were just having a conversation!”

“Do you think you’ll be able to get him to walk?” Kyoko was stern with her tone, more so than usual Hiro felt like. 

“Well… he’s right here, you could ask him yourself,” Hiro would have stopped there, but Kyoko’s glare urged him to continue.”B-But, I’m sure I can, and if worst comes to worst I’ll just carry hi-”

“Good. Tonight, come to the cafeteria at 6. There… is something we need to discuss.” With that, Kyoko left the room, swift and quick. She gave one last glance at the two boys before closing the door. Hiro looked at where the girl once was for a second, confused.

_ What did they need to talk about? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter!! Maybe one day i'll have a consistent update schedule... Have a lovely day!


	8. Chapter Eight: Meaningful Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationship development boiiiisssss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beep bop Byakuya a thot

“Good. Tonight, come to the cafeteria at 6. There… is something we need to discuss.” With that, Kyoko left the room, swift and quick. She gave one last glance at the two boys before closing the door. Hiro looked at where the girl once was for a second, confused.

_ What did they need to talk about? _

“Fuck, I’m gonna hafta walk?” Leon suddenly spoke up, causing the other to turn in his direction. Hiro chuckled at the ginger’s statement, and nodded.

“Unfortunately.”

(time skip :0 )

“Alright dude,” Hiro lent out a hand to the boy sitting on the side of the cot he’d previously been laying on. “We gotta go to the cafeteria now. You sure you don’t want me to carry you?” Leon looked up at him, and to Hiro’s surprise, there was a scared look on his face. He’d honestly expected Leon to be dumbfounded, or a bit teasing on his offer.

“Do… do we have to go?” Leon asked, almost too quiet to hear.

“Well, uh- I wouldn’t want to be on Kyoko’s bad sid-”

“I don’t know if I’m ready to see her.” Leon’s words were rushed, tumbling out of his mouth in a blur. It was almost like… he had to force himself to say it. Huh… 

“Oh don’t worry, Kyoko may seem bad, but-” Hiro stopped himself, realization dawning on him, made apparent by his gaping mouth. “You… weren’t talking about Kyoko, were you? You were… talking about Sayaka.” Leon solemnly nodded, taking his eyes off of the clairvoyant.

“What do you expect? I… I killed her for fucks sake! I still don’t really understand what’s happening… but I understand that it’s probably best if we never see each other ever again.” 

“Hey man!” Hiro exclaimed all of a sudden, even surprising himself. Where did this energy come from? “First of all, we’re all stuck in this school until everyone wakes up, so you’re bound to see each other some time. Second, … we all gotta stick together man… we’re the only ones who went through this crap, and we’re the only ones who can truly help each other. Even if she does hate you, you’ll have that closure, right? You’re never gonna heal until you confront your fear!”

“... Jeez, when did you get so good at pep talks?” Leon replied, eyes wide open.

“Honestly… I’m not completely sure. I just have this memory of someone saying those kinds of words a lot before. Not sure who though!” Hiro looked at Leon again, and reached out his hand. “Now come on, we’re already late.”

  
  


“Jeez, those two sure are taking their sweet time.” Byakuya mumbled, crossing his arms.

“Normally, I’d take any chance to disagree with you, but I have to agree with you here. Where are they?” Hina commented, sighing. The six students in the cafeteria were at the long table (even Byakuya), waiting for Hiro and Leon to arrive. The group was told to meet at 6, but the two were quite obviously late.

“Come on guys, cut them some slack. It’s probably hard for Leon to walk, and-” Before Makoto could finish, the door burst open. As if on cue, Hiro walked in, with his arm around Leon, smiling. Makoto turned to the duo, and his mouth fell open.

“Sorry we’re late!” Hiro shouted. However, he got no response. Makoto would have replied but… Leon… This was the first time Makoto had seen him, and he was told it was bad, but… the execution did a number on him. More than that… he… 

“Oh my god…” He heard Sayaka whisper behind him. He turned, and saw the girl wringing her hands dangerously hard, her eyes wide in fear, and shaking some. 

“Hey,” Makoto began, putting his hands on hers. “It’s gonna be okay… you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. If you have to, you can leave.” Sayaka shook her head, took a breath, and looked down, deep in thought. 

“I’m… I’m staying.” She said, determined. He nodded, and turned back. By this time, the two had taken seats. Hiro seemed like his usual self, but Leon… seemed to be trying to look anywhere but at the people at the table. He was wearing a red sweatshirt with the brand of a band makoto didn’t know, and his hair was messy, though still having some memory of it’s old style.

“So,” Hiro began. “Why’re we here Kyoko?”

“Actually, I didn’t call this meeting. Byakuya did. I’m simply the messenger.” Kyoko answered, looking at the blonde boy. Said boy scoffed, and straightened himself. 

“I’ll cut right to the chase,” The progeny said. “I called this meeting to discuss Leon, and Sayaka to some extent.” Everyone sat up at the sentence, a nervous aura emitting from the group. Makoto saw Sayaka grip her knees, and Leon started to sweat. 

“Wh… What do you mean?” Hina asked, nervous. 

“I mean, one is a murderer, and the other an attempted murderer. How should we keep them… restrained so they don’t try anything? Furthermore, what should we do with them once we go outside?” The room tensed at Byakuya’s words, the others totally shocked.

“W-What! Keep them restrained?! You’re crazy!” Hina yelled, standing up.

“Yea! What kind of crazy people tie up their classmates!” Hiro added, putting a hand on Leon’s shoulder. While it seemed to Makoto to be comforting, Leon seemed to far gone in his anxiety to notice it. 

“Uh, yea… isn’t that a bit extreme?” Makoto said nervously, tilting his head. 

“How is it extreme? Clearly they are in the wrong, having done such things. We’ve done nothing wrong.”

“That’s where you’re wrong!”

(Take a shot every time they say “wrong”)

Makoto looked over, and there stood Hina. Standing confident with a hand on her hip and one pointing toward Byakuya, she looked ready to take him down. 

“I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me! How are we not in the wrong? Are you forgetting that you tampered with evidence, aka Chihiro’s dead body, or that I tried to convince you all I killed my best friend, or that Toko shares a body with a serial killer!”

“H-hey! Shut u-up...” Toko rang out, but fell silent afterward. In fact, the whole room was silent, in shock at Hina’s words. Even Byakuya, who had seemed so confident before, was struck quiet. 

“Yea,” Makoto spoke up. “Hina’s right. We can’t blame anyone for what happened here. This... this is all Junko’s fault! She inflicted us with despair, and manipulated us to do what she wanted. Blaming each other is just giving in to Junko, letting her manipulate still after death. We can’t let despair win!” Hina and Hiro spoke in agreement to his words, but the others stayed silent. That is, until…

“What…” Leon’s voice spoke up, shaky and quiet. “The fuck.” Ah right… There's a lot Leon and Sayaka don’t know… 

“This…” Byakuya glared down at all of them, a truly angry expression on his face. “This is foolish. Even if we don’t do anything, the outside world will surely will, or have you forgotten this killing game was broadcast to the entire world?” Makoto sucked in his breath… he had forgotten. This whole time… the entire world watched them struggle and kill. What would the world do? Was there an organization that would… take care of them?

“W...What?” Leon spoke up again, but this time he looked beyond terrified. His cyan eyes widened as his pupils contracted, and his mouth slightly hung open after he spoke. In fact… his look was similar to the one he wore in that first trial… “The… the whole world?” Hiro snapped his head to the boy, worried, but Leon already had his head in his hands, shaking violently.

Then Sayaka burst into tears.

Makoto looked between the two, anxiety quickly creeping in on the egg boy. What… was he supposed to do? The conversation had been completely derailed… and sunk into despair. Byakuya himself seemed satisfied, and leaned back, just… watching the situation. He turned to Sayaka, attempting to calm her down. 

“H-Hey,” Makoto began quite weakly, wincing at his tone. “It’s okay, you’re okay. None of this… is your fault.” He kept repeating those words, holding Sayaka’s shoulders, but he had a feeling that it wasn’t as effective as he thought it was.

“It’s… It’s because of me,” Sayaka mumbled through her tears. “I was selfish… so selfish, and now… everything is wrong.”

“No, Say-”

“I know you don’t want to blame me! But… the world is a judgmental place, I know that. And I… I attempted murder, and now look where I am! I’m… I’m the reason Leon looks like that…” if Makoto was about 5% more observant, he would’ve noticed a certain redhead droopily raise his head slightly in an act of confusion. Unfortunately, he was not, so his focus remained solely on the blue-haired girl in front of him. However, before he could resume his encouraging words, a different voice spoke up, although just barely.

“W….What do you mean ‘I’m the reason Leon looks like that’?” The two turned to see Leon looking straight at them. The room fell silent once again, the group giving nervous glances to one another. “What happened to me?” He asked, his cyan orbs trailing down his body cloaked in baggy clothes. Before anyone could respond, Leon ripped his sweatshirt and shirt up, for all to see.

The act revealed a skinny chest absolutely and totally damaged beyond repair. Where fair skin should have been, laid a wasteland of pink scars, all around the same size… a baseball’s size. No part of his torso was exempt from this treatment, the bruises tainting the entirety of his chest. There did seem to be bandages in some areas worse for wear, but they didn’t hide the damage.

Leon stares at his torso, scarily silent. His eyes, once again, were dead and unmoving, completely fixated on the tragedy of his body. The rest of the room stared as well, shocked at the turn of events. Toko, again, had fainted, but no one seemed to notice or care at the moment.

Hiro awoke from the trance, and slowly sank to the boy’s level. “Leon-“

“I need to go.” Makoto barely saw Leon’s mouth move, but the words left him quick and unsteady. Hiro hesitated, but nodded. Makoto watched as Hiro helped Leon get up and walk out of the cafeteria. The clairvoyant gave the room one last look before going out of sight. 

Makoto stared at the empty door, shocked at what he had just seen. He knew Leon was in bad shape… but to see that… it reminded Makoto once again if the reality they were in. That his friends and classmates really felt their deaths… and suffered. If only he’d know, he could have done something! They were right there, all along, he could have gotten to them, and-

“Everyone.” A voice spoke up, with a distinct stern tone. It broke Makoto out of his trance, and to him, everyone else’s as well. As it turned out, the voice belonged to Kyoko Kirigiri.

“It’s clear that we’re finally being hit by the reality of our situation,” she began, looking down. “Although his methods are… questionable, I’m guessing this is what Byakuya intended to do. Getting hit with all of this information is affecting all of us, but what we need to do is work together, as a group.”

“Kyoko is right.” Makoto found himself saying after she spoke. “ There’s no way to tell what the future holds, so for now, we need to focus on what we need to do right now. And that’s giving each other the hope they need, so no one has to fall into despair again.” He looked at Kyoko as he spoke, a grin on his face.

“Yea!” Hina cheered. “I don’t care what anyone says, I’m not letting go of any of my classmates!” Sayaka then looked up beside Makoto, her blue eyes still wet with tears widening as she heard the encouraging words of her friends.

“You are all so… confident. It… It makes me wanna try. Try to help in whatever I can!” The idol commented, her mouth just barely curving into a smile.

“Hmph.” Byakuya finally added. “Well, it’s good to know we’re all on the same page.” Before anyone could reply to his contradictory statement, he left the room quickly with his long (ass) legs. 

“W...What?” Hina said, dumbfounded. 

“I think… Byakuya just told us he’s going to help us. To what extent and in what ways, we’ll have to see.” Kyoko commented.

“Well, at least that mess is over with!” The swimmer cheered. However, after a moment her eyes drifted and her expression changed to one more resembling discomfort. “Oh… I almost forgot, Toko passed out. I suppose I’ll bring her… somewhere and hopefully not get hurt. Wish me luck!

With that, the tan girl grabbed the writer and somehow managed to get her on her back with little effort, much to the shock of Makoto. He definitely wouldn’t be able to do that! He watched her walk out of the cafeteria, and made a silent prayer that Syo wouldn’t be too harsh on her today. At the least only a couple boob jokes. 

Makoto turned to help Sayaka up, but he felt a hand on his shoulder before he could speak. He turned back around to see Kyoko standing close to him, an unfamiliar look on her face that he couldn’t quite make out. “May I talk to you momentarily?”

“Of course,” he said, letting her walk him over to a more secluded area. “What did you need Kyoko?”

“Well…” She hesitated for a second, looking away. “I just… wanted to thank you, is all.”

“Th-Thank me?” The egg sputtered out. “Why? I don’t think I’ve done anything too outstanding…” The detective quietly chuckled in response, furthering his confusion.

“Of course you’d think that; you’re so modest Makoto-'' She brushed a piece of hair over her shoulder before speaking again. “But you have the wrong idea. To be honest… I was having thoughts similar to Byakuya. As a detective, I have to look at those sides of things. But… you’re complete hope and determination to believe in them and support them, it made me want to believe in them as well. Even if I still have my doubts, I can put them aside because I trust you. So… thank you.”

Makoto stared at her, his face tinged with red and covered in shock. She… she really trusted him that much?! “K,,,,Kyoko…” He faltered,still processing what she said. “Thank you for trusting me! I won’t let you down!” He saw Kyoko begin to form what looked like a smile, but then it quickly was replaced by a straight face.   
“Kyoko, you know you don’t have to hide your smile, right? I won’t judge you!” Makoto said, really before he could realize it. To his luck, his words somehow caused Kyoko to give a small smile. It wasn’t anything huge, but it made Makoto blush more than he would’ve liked. “See, you have a really cute smile! Such a cute smile shouldn’t be hidden!” Oh my god did he really just say that? Out loud!? Why!?!?!?!? Kyoko had a rare blush on her face, her mouth in a small “o” shape. Before he could say anything else to embarrass himself, she rushed out of the room. Oh jeez… 

Makoto turned back to Sayaka, only to find that he was alone in the cafeteria. Well, at least that means only Kyoko probably heard him embarrass himself. 

Sayaka was conflicted, to say the least. She’d left the cafeteria in a hurry, which she felt somewhat bad about since Makoto looked like he wanted to talk to her. It’s that she didn’t want to talk to him, just… she needed time to think. She should be happy from what everyone said… but she couldn’t help thinking about two things....

_ “W….What do you mean ‘I’m the reason Leon looks like that’?” The two turned to see Leon looking straight at them. The room fell silent once again, the group giving nervous glances to one another. “What happened to me?” He asked, his cyan orbs trailing down his body cloaked in baggy clothes. Before anyone could respond, Leon ripped his sweatshirt and shirt up, for all to see. _

What she saw… she couldn’t help shaking at the memory of it. And to know that whatever happened to him… was all because of her selfish thinking. She’d heard him mention something when he’d just woken up…. About baseballs to his body. She knew it was more complex than that, but that fact only scared her

And then… there was… 

_ “W...What?” Leon spoke up again, but this time he looked beyond terrified. His cyan eyes widened as his pupils contracted, and his mouth slightly hung open after he spoke. In fact… his look was similar to the one he wore in that first trial… “The… the whole world?” Hiro snapped his head to the boy, worried, but Leon already had his head in his hands, shaking violently. _

Her head couldn’t even wrap around the reality of their suffering being used as some sick TV show. Who does that? (Tsumugi intensifies) It seemed so surreal, everyone knowing every awful thought she had in this shitty killing game. And Leon… he’d have it worse than her, actually having killed her. Would… would they just forever be known as “The first killer and killed at Hope’s Peak? Would… would she be able to be herself? 

With every thought, her eyelids closed just a smidge more, and she slowly fell asleep

When she woke up a few hours later, she knew what she had to do.

It was around ten, and Sayaka hoped it wasn’t too late to do what she wanted to do. Well, she was hoping for a lot of things. She hoped Hiro or whoever wouldn’t stop her. She hoped she wouldn’t chicken out. She hoped he wouldn’t be too afraid. Of her, she means.

Sayaka stopped when she reached the infirmary. This is where they were right. She knocked without thinking about it too much, and was greeted by Hiro.

“Hey Ky-Sayaka? What are you doing here?” the clairvoyant asked, obvious shock on his face, quickly shutting the door about halfway.   
“I-I,,,uh, well I-” she hesitated. “I want to talk to Leon.” Might as well just say it. 

“Uh, well-he’s actually asl-”

“Yo Hiro, who’s that? Is it Kyoko again?” She heard what was most definitely Leon’s voice from somewhere in the room. Sayaka huffed.

“He’s asleep? Really?” 

“Look Sayaka, I just don’t know if it’s like… that good of an id-”

“Hiro, I understand where you’re coming from, I do, but I need to do this. Even if it’s just for two minutes...I need to tell him I’m sorry. I promise I won’t do anything.” She begged him with her eyes, and eventually he gave in. Slowly, he let her in and left with the door closed, although she knew he was waiting just outside. Sayaka could feel Leon staring at her as she turned. 

“H-Hi” She began. She noticed he was back in his sweatshirt, with some bandages poking out.

“Sayaka,” he breathed out, eyes wide. “Y-you… I…”

“I’m sorry.” she blurted it out, like she couldn’t hold it in anymore. “I’m so sorry.” 

Immediately, as if a switch had been flipped, tears began pooling in Leon’s eyes and down his face. Seconds later Sayaka was at his side, frantically moving her arms around. 

“A-Ah! Did I say something? I’m sorry, I should’ve neve-”

“Why are you apologizing!?” Leon was now sitting up straight, looking Sayaka in the eyes, “ I… I should be the one doing that… even though… I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I… What do you have to apologize for?” 

“Everything! Leon-” She wiped her eyes, which had begun to well up with tears. “- this is all because of me! I was selfish… and now so many of our classmates died… because I started it all.”

“But you never actually killed anyone! It was me… I decided to come back… for some goddamn reason… it was me! This could have been avoided! I was…! ...Stupid… “

“But I started it-”

“And I didn’t have to end it, but I did! It’s my fault!” Leon’s tears stained the white blanket beneath him, standing out against it. “ Why… why are you even here?”

“I…” Sayaka took a deep breath, swallowing away her fears. “I came here to apologize, and… hopefully try and start again with you. Everyone’s trying so hard to help us, to believe we can all do this, and I feel like I can’t help unless I know I’ve at least talked to you about it. I want… I want to believe we can get through this together.`` Leon stared back at her with wide eyes.

“To… Together?”

Sayaka grabbed his hand.

“Yes, together.”

Hiro opened the door quietly, to see Leon and Sayaka, sitting acroos from each other on separate cots. They had their eyes barely open, and Sayaka was holding Leon’s hand in a supportive grasp. They were silent, but Hiro could tell that they were having a moment that didn’t need words. He closed the door. For now, he’ll just let them be… comforted by each other. 

Makoto walked into breakfast with a cheery attitude. While he’d slept, he gained a memory of a time when he went to a festival with his class, and had a lot of fun. Most notably he remembered the fireworks… and how Kyoko looked so mesmerized. He shook his head, the memory reminding him of the humiliation yesterday. Before he could dwell on it too long, he heard a noise. Was that… Sayaka laughing? He looked up to find a scene he was  _ not _ expecting to see.

“Really? I can’t believe it!”Sayaka giggled, nibbling on a piece of toast. 

“I can hardly believe it myself… I go to sleep and suddenly remember getting dentention for playing baseball in a classroom.” Leon replied, chewing his apple. Makoto looked at the two in shock. Is this real? Weren’t the two not loooking at each other just the day before?

“It’s surprising, I know. The others including myself were also baffled.” he turned to see Kyoko next to him, causing his cheeks to warm. She either didn’t notice or decided not to, which he was thankful for. “It seems to be that the two made up.”

“Yea,” Makoto agreed. “I’m glad they did. I hope the others can too.” Kyoko then held out her hand, and Makoto saw a granola bar in her hand. Before he could accept it, however, a loud noise came from behind him, startling the two.

“Everyone,” Hiro yelled, panting heavily. “I found Alter Ego!”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys!! Hopefully I'll have another chapter out soon (I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter!!). Y'all are appreciated :)  
> Anways have a lovely day!


	9. Chapter Nine: Alter Despair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow look I'm finally updating!!!! This chapter isn't the best but it'll spice up soon probably. Make sure to stay safe and not go crazy in quarantine everyone!!

“Everyone,” Hiro yelled, panting heavily. “I found Alter Ego!”

In minutes, everyone in the school had gathered in the data lab, which left a tired and displeased Togami, but it was important and he’d just have to deal with it. In fact, the group itself was more focused on what was on a screen rather than a person. On that screen, although much more glitchy and hollow than they remembered, was undeniably Alter Ego.

“I can’t believe it.” Hina breathed, staring wide-eyed.

“It seems all of our dedicated work paid off,” Kyoko added matter-of-factly. “However, Alter Ego’s unresponsiveness concerns me. Did you do anything, Hiro?” 

“No, I promise,” The boy yelped in response. “I just was walking around the school, and happened to walk by the data lab. I thought I saw a light, so I checked to see if you or anyone were in there. But...it was just like this! All he does is… move his eyes around!” 

“That’s… strange,” Makoto said, worry tracing his eyes. “ Maybe if we just… talk to him?” 

“It’s worth a shot,” Kyoko replied. She swiftly walked up to the computer. “I’m going to type in ‘Alter Ego, are you there?’. Is that okay with everyone?” After a chorus of “yeas” and “that’s fine”, the only sound was Kyoko typing into the computer. However, the second Kyoko entered her greeting, a loud noise erupted from the device, causing her to jump back some. 

“W-What was that?!” Hina yelled, gripping her ears shut. 

“Are you okay Kyoko?” Makoto walked up to her, lending out a hand. The detective silently took his hand, getting up almost efoortlessly. 

“I’m fine.”

“Uh… guys?” Sayaka whispered, eyes wide. “... Why am I on the screen? Didn’t you say Alter Ego was Chihiro?”

“What? That’s not-” Kyoko turned and stopped mid-sentence, seeing that Sayaka was indeed correct. There, on the screen, was Sayaka, in similar fashion to how Alter Ego looked. The figure… looked terrified, complete with wide eyes that frantically looked around and a quivering mouth. “-That’s new.” 

“W-Well, didn’t Alter Ego show Mondo to help Taka cope? Maybe Alter Ego can just show everyone!”

“This is getting weird.” Leon mumbled, not tearing his eyes away from the screen.

“I’m… going to type something again. Prepare yourselves,” Kyoko repeated her actions again, this time speaking out the words she was typing. “ ‘Hello Sayaka, how are you?’”

This time, no loud noise was made, relieving the group. However, that wouldn’t last. Alter Ego seemed to be processing the information, slower than Makoto thought he used to. All of a sudden, the face glitched, and began to speak.

“ℍ𝕚! 𝕀’𝕞 𝕊𝕒𝕪𝕒𝕜𝕒 𝕄𝕒𝕚- ℍ𝕖𝕙𝕖- 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕤𝕥-𝕀 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖- 𝕀 ℕ𝔼𝔼𝔻 𝕋𝕆- 𝕙𝕖𝕙𝕖𝕙𝕖- 𝕄𝕒𝕜𝕠𝕥𝕠 𝕀- ℕ𝔼𝔼𝔻 𝕋𝕆-𝕘𝕖𝕥- 𝕙𝕚!” The voice continued to ramble the clips of Sayaka’s voice over and over, shocking the group. Most notably, Sayaka herself.

“What… the hell is this?” Byakuya spoke, a rare expression of disbelief making its appearance. 

“ₚ ₗ ₑ ₐ ₛ ₑ . . . ᵢ ₙ ₑ ₑ D ₜ ₒ G ₑ ₜ ₒ ᵤ ₜ… ₛ₋ ₛ ₐ y ₐ ₖ ₐ ₘₐ ᵢ z ₒ ₙ ₒ… ᵤ ₗ ₜ ᵢ ₘ ₐ ₜ ₑ ₋ ₐ ₐ G ₕ ₕ ₕ !”

“Why… why is it… I…” Sayaka mumbled, eyes fixated on the pixelated her. Leon, who was next to her, grabbed onto her shoulders, tearing her eyes away.

“Don’t look at it! It’ll just mess with your head! It’s purposefully showing this shit to-” Leon stopped, hearing a familiar voice, and turned to see a very familiar face. 

“§†µþïÐ! §†µþïÐ§†µþïÐ§†µþïÐ§†µ- Lêðñ Kµw-wå†å- Hê¥¥¥, §å¥åkå’§ k-kïñÐå- Whå†?- §†µþïÐ§†µþïÐ§†µþïÐ§†µþïÐ- ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄHHHHH- §†ÚþÌÐ- ñÖÖððÖÖÖððð!” The face on the screen was now Leon’s, with a similar expression as during the class trial. 

“W… What the fuck…” Leon managed to mumble out a few words, terror in his eyes. Makoto could practically see the memories flooding back. “This…” Leon was stuck still, frozen in fear. 

“Leon!” Sayaka yelped, frantically looking around. “Can someone shut it off!?”

“ɐɥ ɐ ɥ - ᗡIԀ∩⊥S -ʇsnɾ sɐʍ I -∩⊥S ᗡIԀ∩⊥S ᗡIԀ∩⊥S ᗡIԀ∩⊥S “

“Sorry!” Sayaka yelled as she closed her eyes and slapped Leon across the face. The strike seemed effective, Leon coming out of his trance, but still shaken.

“If we shut it off we could lose Alter Ego forever,” Kyoko replied while the computer continued to sputter out “Stupids”. “We can’t afford that. I’m going to ask him something else.” With rapid fingers, Kyoko formulated a question. “What happened to you? Where is Alter Ego?”

“Alter…. Ego?” Leon’s pixelated face suddenly glitched, morphing into a face they were more familiar with on the screen.

“ʸᵒᵘ… ʸᵒᵘ ᵃˡˡ… ᵃʳᵉ ˢᵗⁱ ˡˡ ʰ ᵉ ʳ ᵉ?” The voice spoke, slow and deep and totally unlike the previous Alter Ego. 

“Yes, we are, and we need your help with finding information.” Kyoko spoke as she typed.

“¥ ð µ… ¥ê å!! Ì’Ð lð vê †-” As quickly as he had appeared, Alter Ego’s face morphed again, this time into one Mondo Oowada. However, this Mondo… he looked as if… he was… melting…

“Ｉ’ｍ… ｓｏｒｒｙ…” A deep voice erupted from the computer, slower than they’d heard before, and sorrowful almost.

“Wh… Why does he look like that?” Sayaka whimpered, pointing to the figure on the screen.

“Um, well, it’s a long story.” Hina said.

“Why is this happening to you Alter Ego? Why are you glitching?” Kyoko typed, growing visibly impatient, but also worried. When she input the question, the screen glitched again, to show the next victim of the killing game, Taka. Of everyone they’d seen, he looked the most shaken, similar to after Mondo’s execution. The group watched Kyoko type in the same questions again.

However, the only noise that came from the computer was a heart-shattering sob.

“Wh…” Hiro was unable to form a response, along with everyone else, just staring and listening. Eventually, the screen glitched again to show an oddly silent Hifumi. Once again, Kyoko entered the two questions, hoping for a response.

“...” Hifumi seemed to hesitate. ₐₗₜₑᵣ ₑgₒ… ₐₗₜₑᵣ ₑgₒ ᵢₛ… ₘᵢₛₛ Yₐₛᵤₕᵢᵣₒ? W₋Wₕₐₜ ₐᵣₑ yₒᵤ₋ Wₐᵢₜ wₐᵢₜ wₐᵢₜ₋ ᵤₘ, wₑₗₗ, yₒᵤ ₛₑₑ₋ ₐₗₜₑᵣ ₑgₒ ᵢₛ… ₛᵢcₖ?”

“Sick? What does that mean?” Togami asked, impatient. 

“Does he mean like a virus?” Hina added.

“I’ll ask.” Kyoko replied, already typing. Hifumi glitched out as soon as she hit enter, but instead of showing Celeste, the screen was blank. 

“What? Where'd he go?” Hina yelped.

“I’m… not sure.” Kyoko replied coolly, but Makoto knew from how she tightened her hands into fists that she was nervous. What if they lost Alter Ego forever?

“Well, what do we do now?’ Sayaka trembled as she spoke, clearly spooked. However, not as much as Leon, who hadn’t spoken since his outburst.

“Uhhhh...guys,” Hiro shakily pointed a hand towards the screen. “There’s…. There’s uh” The group turned around, and saw a face they had hoped to never see again.

“Puhuhuh, did ya miss me?” Junko’s voice ran shrill and clear throughout the room. It must be a recording, the other voices were much more scratched.

“Junko?!” Makoto yelled, eyes widening in shock. What the hell?! 

“Of course.” Kyoko sighed, her eyes narrowing towards the pigtailed girl. 

“Hehe, it seems you’ve found out what I did to lil’ ol Alter Ego-” Her face switched emotions in an instant, looking like an ‘kawaii anime girl’. “-Chihiwo IS the uwtimate pwogwammar, but my despair disea- fuck wrong game- despair viwus infected it faiwwy wewl!!” (kill me I hated writing that)

“Wait...I was right? You infected a virus into Alter Ego?” Hina asked, surprised she was actually correct in her guess. 

“Yup!!! I figuwed you’d wook fow some info, and I couldn’t make it easy, could I?”

“Damn… and I really thought we were getting somewhere!” Hiro shouted, running his hands through his thick hair. Junko suddenly looked maniacal, her eyes raging with despair. 

“ AHAHAHA!!! GUESS YOU’LL HAVE TO TRY AGAIN SOME OTHER TIME! SEE YAAAAAAA!!!!” With that, the screen abruptly shut off, leaving the room silent. Kyoko desperately tried to turn the computer back on, but to no avail. She stood up quietly, and turned to the others.

“We’re going to need Chihiro for this.”

Most would find it strange, especially during or after a killing game, but Toko enjoyed roaming the halls at night. It was a quiet time where she didn’t have to worry about anyone, or anything. Syo usually… did her thing during the day; she “enjoyed the thrill”. So, nighttime wasn’t all that particularly scary for her. Plus, Toko really could use the time to think to herself. 

It had been four days since the incident with Alter Ego, and each new day brought more unwanted and anxiety-inducing thoughts for Toko. What if Junko puts them in another killing game? What if Junko makes them go despair-crazy? What if they never get out of here?? What if-

“Hey, Toko, are you okay?” Toko yelped as she was suddenly brought back to reality by a voice. As her vision cleared, she saw that it was Sayaka, wearing a T-shirt and shorts. What was she doing awake?

“W-Wha- Sayaka?!” Was all she could sputter out. Maybe Makoto sent Sayaka out to watch her, to make sure she didn’t do anything. Because… because they didn’t trust her. But, that means they found out about her walks…. And they wanna-

“Hey, you’re zoning out again I think! Are you okay?” She asked again, and Toko could see some emotion in her eyes… worry? No, it couldn’t be. 

“W-Why do you care? And w-why are y-you awake?” Toko was desperate for Sayaka to stop interrogating her, as she knew it was all fake. Fake… yea. 

“Uh well, I care because you looked really stressed and upset, and I wanted to help! As for me being awake, I wanted a snack.” She smiled when she finished talking, radiating sweet energy. Sickeningly sweet. 

“Y-You… you w-what?” 

“Um,” Sayaka cocked her head to one side. “ I wanted to help you? Is that strange?” Yes, yes that was strange. No one… no one wanted to help her. That was just something Toko had come to expect. Why this all of the sudden????

“O-Oh,” She sputtered out.”No one’s really… done that before…”

“Ever?! Well, I’m sorry I haven’t talked to you sooner!” Sayaka’s positive words made Toko sick to her stomach. How could she be so okay?! It wasn’t fair!!!

“Well m-maybe I’ve been a-avoiding someone who tried t-to murder someone!” Oh great, now she’s going to hate you forever. Good going. Sayaka frowned at her words, but didn’t seem downright angry.

“Well, Makoto told me you’re not exactly perfect either, what with Genocider Syo.” The bluenette replied, shifting a hand to her hip. 

“Uh…” Toko didn’t really have a response to that. She was hoping Sayaka didn’t yet know of the identity that shared a body with her.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it-” Sayaka looked at her with a smile again. “-This is a… complex situation we have ourselves in after all. But if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here.” ...What? She….she…

“O-Ok.” She blurted out, watching the girl wave as she walked away. Toko was about to do the same when she heard a noise from above. Apparently Sayaka heard it as well, as they both turned to look at each other. 

“Did… Did you hear that?” She asked.

“Y-Yea, it k-kinda sounded like-”

“-Someone yelling… isn’t Makoto upstairs on duty in the Bio Lab?” Now that she said it, Toko did recognize the voice as Makoto’s.

“Yea, h-he is…”

In seconds the two were running up the nearest stairs, with Sayaka leading ahead by a considerable amount. Jeez, Sayaka didn’t  _ look _ that fit, but somehow she was able to outpass her by a lot, though she wasn’t at all in shape. In a couple minutes, the two were heaving and at the door to the Bio Lab. Without hesitating, Sayaka pulled open the door, and the two peered inside.

And there they saw one Makoto Naegi heaving a panicked Chihiro Fujisaki out of a cold chamber. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> User joss says toko support group rights!! Um hope you enjoyed this chapter!!


	10. Chapter Ten: System Reboot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chihiro wakes up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woohoo I'm back with this fic!!! it's been way too long i know, but for some reason i was at a stump for this chapter. however, i've thought things through, and i know what i'm doing going forward with the fic! enjoy the chapter :)

Without hesitating, Sayaka pulled open the door, and the two quickly bent their heads and peered inside.

And there they saw one rather unlucky Makoto Naegi heaving a panicked Chihiro Fujisaki out of a cold chamber. 

Immediately, Sayaka ran toward the struggling lucky student, in an attempt to aid him in lifting Chihiro out of her (Sayaka isn't aware of Chihiro's real gender yet!) chamber. This left Toko scrambling to rush inside, though Toko soon seemed unsure what to do that would be deemed “useful”. For now, the girl settled on watching the scene unfold before her with baited breaths and anxious jitters. 

Makoto looked up at the surge of sounds, breathing out a sound of relief as Sayaka eased the struggle of carrying Chihiro, as he was a weak boy. Carefully, the two eased the programmer out of the box and held him at each end of his body. He could feel the boy shaking as he was then laid gently on the ground, and Makoto grasped Chihiro’s hand, trying to give him support. “Hey… it’s okay Chihiro…” Makoto cringed at his words; he wasn’t very good at this. “You’re not going to be hurt, ok? You’re alive, and you’re going to stay that way.” Chihiro then looked up at him, and the lucky student could see it was taking almost all of his strength to do so. His eyes… Makoto felt Chihiro’s fear and panic just looking into those bright hazel eyes that didn’t match the dull room. 

Makoto looked away when he heard a second scramble of feet, to see Toko scurry out of the room. “Don’t worry,” Sayaka told him, now kneeling down to look at Chihiro. “I told her to go wake the others, or as many of them as she could.” Makoto nodded as he turned back to the two. It was then that Makoto could focus enough to look at Chihiro’s body, well, more like the changes of said body. 

The most obvious of the visible changes was the large scar running along the edge of Chihiro’s forehead, colored bright but at the same time faded pink. If he were to push back Chihiro’s hair, Makoto was sure he’d see the scar running along and into the scalp as well. The scar also left faint pink trails down the programmer’s forehead, looking like blood drips. As he looked more, Makoto also saw pink markings on Chihiro’s neck and wrists. _ They… were probably from Byakuya’s interference _ , Makoto determined, cringing at the memory. Chihiro’s clothes were ragged and torn, though not as much as Leon’s had been.  _ So… none of the...bodies….were treated with much care, but they were still kept safe in these chambers. Why? Why were they kept in the first place? This is getting more confusing…  _

“M...Makoto? ...Say…aka…?” Makoto turned back into reality as he just barely heard a voice; a faint strained voice, but a voice. As his vision focused, he saw Chihiro, with worried eyes that looked between him and Sayaka. “W...What?” Chihiro’s brow creased ever so slightly, trying to make sense of the situation. 

“...Yea, it’s us.” Sayaka answered softly, carefully laying her hands on his arm and rubbing said arm, probably an attempt to sooth him. 

“Am… Am I in heaven?” Chihiro’s voice grew weaker with each word, and the two could hear the programmer’s throat struggling to speak. Makoto and Sayaka shared a concerned glance before Makoto spoke up.

“Uh...no. We’re not in any afterlife at all actually. You see… you’re alive again Chihiro… in fact… um… you never truly died in the first place.” Makoto gripped Chihiro’s hands as he spoke slowly, giving the time to process the information. The boy was silent for a few moments, eyes going blank.

“...Should we have waited to tell her she was alive?” Sayaka asked quietly, looking at Makoto with a worried expression. Makoto looked back, eyes widening as he considered the possibility that Sayaka was right and he might've just made a huge mistake.

“...What?” Chihiro finally said weakly, getting the attention of the other two students. “But...but I….Mondo, he….Mondo! Mondo he…. Is he...no, he has to be...I…” Chihiro began to spit out words, seemingly unable to keep up with his thoughts. As he continued to speak, his words came out faster and his voice got more shaky, and despite Makoto and Sayaka’s attempts to console him, he couldn’t help but spiral. 

“I-I-I… I’m dead I’m dead I’m dead I know this!! I felt it I felt the dumbell I felt the life slip out of me I- but, but I’m here, I’m here and you said I’m not dead but you could have lied but why would you lie and-”

“Chihiro, it’s okay, just take a breath-”

“Chihiro, we’re right here, no one’s going to hurt y-”

Footsteps.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the otherwise quiet hallway, distracting the two stable students from the… less stable student on the ground, and causing them to focus on the door with instinctive anxiety. As the echoes grew louder, they were able to differentiate the noises as multiple sets of footsteps, some louder than others. 

Suddenly, the door burst open, with the door banging against the nearby wall causing more noise. This unsurprisingly caused Sayaka and Makoto to flinch, followed by a quick turn of heads. A burst of red hair with similar red pajama bottoms informed the two who caused the ruckus, though few others would do such. 

“Hey! I’m here, where-” A voice rang out, one that belonged to none other than Leon Kuwata. With quick steps, he raced through the room with his loud greeting, only to stop midway, looking between Sayaka and Makoto. “W...Why isn’t she…” Leon’s eyes widened, emotions Makoto couldn’t give a name for swirling around, desperate to escape their pale confines.

“What?” Sayaka asked quietly, tilting her head. As other students ran in with much less noise, Makoto looked back at the body before him. _ Oh… _ Makoto thought, noticing the stillness of Chihiro,  _ He must have passed out… poor guy. He went through a lot...and probably got overwhelmed? Yea, that sounds right.  _

“So, Chihiro’s awake? He uh, seems kinda not awake-”

“Hm. It seems that the pattern of those who ‘died first’ awakening first is continuing. How peculiar-”

“Is Chihiro okay? Is he going to be okay-”

“Did something happen-”

“Yo, why the hell is everyone calling Chihiro a ‘he’-”

The voices whirled around Makoto’s body in echoing blurs as he stared at the body of the SHSL Programmer. Someone who had been killed… and used for entertainment… someone who had helped them so much with their AI. In fact, without said AI Makoto wouldn’t be alive. Someone who… needed to be helped. Right now. 

“Everyone!” Makoto finds himself yelling rather uncharacteristically, gathering the attention of everyone in the room (besides, of course, the unconscious bodies, you know. obviously). “Um... I don’t think we have the time to bother ourselves with all of these questions; Chihiro needs medical help!” He gestured to the body on the ground, and their eyes followed, just now noticing the programmer’s unconsciousness. Hiona gasped at the sight, and Makoto heard Hiro yelp.

“Oh no, Chihiro!” Hina exclaimed, rushing next to Sayaka. “We need to get him to the infirmary, right away!” Sayaka nodded, along with Makoto, and the three shared a look of understanding. He saw Hina’s eyes widen as she took a look at Chihiro’s wounds, more noticeable than ever with his unnatural pale complexion. Makoto then heard elegant footsteps walk up to the scene, and he raised his eyes slightly to see none other than the ultimate detective watching the three (four?) with sharp eyes.

“I know how to treat his current wounds, so I’ll join you three to the infirmary.” Kyoko said, in the tone of voice that let them know she had a plan that they couldn’t deny. As soon as she finished her statement, she spun to face the others in the room. “I doubt that anyone will be able to sleep much after this, so we should meet up in the cafeteria in let’s say, thirty minutes. There we can discuss what we need to. Any questions?” Hiro seemed to open his mouth to speak, but closed it soon after. However, Byakuya was more than happy to speak instead, although he didn’t look that happy at all. 

“What could we possibly need to discuss that can’t wait until the morning?” His eyes narrowed as he spoke distastefully. “ Personally, I need my sleep in order to even stand the sight and proximity to you… all.” 

“Didn’t you just hear her?” Hina replied, looking up at Byakuya with annoyance. “She said you’d probably not be able to sleep in the first place! We might as well make the best of the time.” At this, the progent simply scoffed. 

“I thought you knew better than to assume things about me, but it seems I have been disappointed, yet again.” With that, the tall teen swiftly walked out of the room. He was soon followed by a panicked… and annoyed(?) Toko, stumbling over her tired feet in order to catch up. 

“Well, there they go,” Hiro commented, rubbing his eyes. “Leon and I can wait in the cafeteria, and maybe make something for us to eat. That okay Leon?” Hiro looked at the shorter boy, who looked very zoned out. Hiro nudged the boy, who shrieked and stumbled at the contact. Sayaka and Hina giggled, watching Leon try to regain his composure.

“What the hell man?!” He said, growing red at his embarrassing wake-up. Hiro repeated his proposal, which Leon agreed to. “Can’t say I’m any good at cooking, but sure, why not?”

“Alright, we’ll meet you there after we make sure Chihiro is safe.” Kyoko confirmed, nodding her head slightly. Hiro gave two thumbs up, and dragged Leon out of the room, much to Leon’s surprise and displeasure, told by the yelling the remaining four (five?) could hear from the hall. 

“Well,” Sayaka began. “We should get going, right?” The other three nodded, and before Makoto could reach for Chihiro, Hina and Sayaka lifted the boy with semi-ease. He gaped as the two coordinated well together, walking toward the door while chuckling. Despite this, he was quick to open the door for them, smiling sheepishly. As he let the door swing shut, he walked up to beside Kyoko, and watched Hina and Sayaka with both amazement and caution. Even as they walked down the stairs, the two were careful while still joking and chatting.

“Their coordination is extraordinary…” He mumbled to himself, focusing his eyes on their well-managed steps. Unfortunately, while he was quite focused on the others, he wasn’t very focused on himself and tripped on the next step down, missing it just enough for disaster. Makoto’s eyes and mouth widened, cringing as he prepared for an ugly crash. However, something grabbed onto him, and he was stopped. He looked around and up, and saw Kyoko with one hand on the rail, and the other holding onto his arm, just barely keeping him up. For a brief moment, he saw worry lacing her eyes,but it faded as she pulled him up. 

However, that wasn’t all he saw. Beyond Kyoko, past her shoulder and back up on the fifth floor, Makoto thought he saw… something. Or rather, someone? For not even a second, Makoto swore he saw the shadow of what looked like a person disappear down a hallway, fast and quiet, but seen nonetheless. It… it had to be a trick of the light, right? Or maybe Toko, or Byakuya? But... it didn’t look like them, there were no braids and the figure wasn’t too tall. 

Kyoko noticed Makoto’s eyes wander and turned around. However, at the sight of nothing, she turned and narrowed her eyes. “What is it?”

“I…” Makoto was hesitant for a moment. Was what he saw worthy of being mentioned? Would she believe him? ...No, he has to tell her. They’ve grown to trust each other, and he can’t break that trust again. “I… thought I saw something upstairs. A shadow, to be specific. I’m not sure if what I saw was real though, it could be nothing.” Kyoko looked down when he finished, deep in thought. Makoto trembled slightly, feeling the tense air between them as the silence grew. However, the air dispersed and Kyoko looked up, and her eyes told Makoto she trusted him. 

“We don’t have time to explore it right now, but later we’ll have to check it out.” She explained simply, but that’s all that was needed to be said. Makoto felt his lips tug into a small smile, and he turned and hurried to catch up with Hina and Sayaka. He heard Kyoko hurry behind him, and they eventually caught up to them,and continued. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Is he going to be okay Kyoko?” Hina asked, anxious. The four were huddled around a cot, in which Chihiro was laid, already looking better in the hospital gown they put on him. Kyoko was currently tying off the bandage she wrapped around his left wrist, similar to the one on his right wrist, neck, and head. 

“Well, he’ll definitely have some struggles, and I can’t be certain, but he’ll be mostly physically stable.” Kyoko replied, putting her hands in her lap. Sayaka hummed next to her anxiously, setting down a glass of water on the small table next to said cot.

“Aw… yea that’s to be expected I guess, but it’s definitely better than nothing!” Hina cheered quietly, trying to stay optimistic. 

“Agreed,” Kyoko said. “Once we’re done meeting up, I’ll watch Chihiro until he wakes up, then inform you all.” The other nodded in understanding.

“Speaking of which-” Makoto began. “-we should probably head to the cafeteria now, Hiro and leon have been waiting for a bit.” 

“Right,” Sayaka agreed quietly, standing up. “Chihiro will be fine here, right?”

“Looking at his current state, yes.” Kyoko responded, standing up as well.

“Alright, let’s head to that meeting!” Hina jumped up, taking the lead out of the infirmary. The others followed dutifully, relieved that all had gone fairly well. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope that chapter was nice! as always, have a lovely day, and remember you are valid :D i'll try to update soon to make up for my absence

**Author's Note:**

> Sup gamerz, hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Idk if the other chapters will be this long, so don't get used to this lol


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